Son Byung-du, Vice Chairman of FSC, "Deadline for Asiana Sale Still Remains"

Son Byung-du, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, is giving opening remarks at the 12th Financial Risk Response Team meeting of the Economic Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Sohn Byung-doo, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said on the 14th regarding the deadline issue for the sale of Asiana Airlines, "It does not seem that the time is over yet."

After the Financial Risk Response Team meeting on the same day, Vice Chairman Sohn met with reporters and said, "It seems that the opinion of the Korea Development Bank is important, but it does not appear that the bank considers the sale deadline to have passed."

Vice Chairman Sohn added, "This is not a situation where (the negotiations) are ending as is," and urged, "The parties involved need to communicate closely."

HDC Hyundai Development Company and Mirae Asset signed a contract with Kumho Industrial at the end of last year to purchase Asiana for a total of 2.5 trillion won. Kumho Industrial reportedly sent a certified letter to HDC Hyundai Development stating that the corporate merger approval process was completed with Russia on the 2nd, the deal closing time had passed, and they intended to terminate the contract.

On the other hand, HDC Hyundai Development's position is that all preconditions must be met for the deal to be finalized, including resolving the significantly changed current situation compared to the time of the acquisition agreement (end of December last year), such as the increase in Asiana Airlines' debt ratio.

Regarding this, a creditor group official said, "At present, since there is a possibility of discussion, it does not appear that the sale deadline has ended."