The Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) reviewed Delivery Hero’s acquisition of shares in Woowa Brothers, a company that operates Baemin, Korea’s No.1 food delivery service. The KFTC’s review process of the merger report (to review for the transaction’s anti-competitiveness) was approximately one year. During this review process, Lee & Ko represented an interested third party and questioned how the apparent dominance may cross over into related markets as a result of this transaction. Lee & Ko proactively presented the client’s position so that the KFTC adequately reviews the anti-competitiveness from various angles. To achieve this goal, Lee & Ko presented relevant decisions rendered by competition authorities in other jurisdictions on delivery applications and highlighted the potential anti-competitive effects that may be caused by the KFTC’s approval. In addition, Lee & Ko made suggestions on possible corrective measures.
Upon review of the transaction which included consideration of the points raised by Lee & Ko, the KFTC concluded that the transaction does raise anti-competitive concerns for various interested parties participating in a diverse marketplace wherein the delivery application platform operates, and thereby imposed corrective measures against Delivery Hero to divest in its related party, Yogiyo