South Korea’s antitrust regulator has concluded its review of the controversial merger between SK Telecom and CJ HelloVision, ending seven months of assessments on the possibility of the deal impeding fair market competition, according to industry sources Monday.
The Fair Trade Commission has reportedly sent its report to SK Telecom, they said without elaborating. The state-run regulatory body will also send the review to the Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning at a later date. Meanwhile, the regulator will give the telecom giant two weeks to contemplate the report.
The FTC spent more than half a year deciding on how far it would make correction orders to SK Telecom regarding the deal’s possible impact on damaging market competitiveness. It has no authority for an approval, but the KCC and the Future Ministry have.
Based on the report by FTC, the KCC and the ministry are expected to make a final decision at the end of the month.
Unlike the FTC’s limited role that only looked into the possibility of the deal hurting market competition, the KCC and the ministry are likely to examine whether the takeover violates the public interest or not.
In the face of heated resistance from rival companies within the industry, the regulator has been delaying its decision. The first deadline was April 1.
The plan is the first case in Korea of a leading mobile carrier taking over a cable TV operator.
Other telecom companies have urged the government not to approve the deal, saying it would lead to SK Telecom monopolizing the market.
SK Telecom, meanwhile, has claimed the deal would offer a breakthrough in the already saturated telecommunications industry and give them the strength to compete with global peers such as Netflix, which has been making inroads into the Korean market.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
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