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South Korea: TV giants fined for under-the-radar merger

By  |  April 24, 2014

South Korea’s two leading KTV television operators have been fined nearly $300,000 for operating as a merger despite never having applied for such a transaction.

According to reports, the nation’s Fair Trade Commission sanctioned Cash Box KTV and Holiday Entertainment Co after an investigation found that the firms have the same headquarter location and one management team supervises both companies’ employees. Further, say reports, the companies have hired the same groups of people.

Cash Box controls 23.7 percent of the market, while Holiday Entertainment controls 21.37 percent. Together, the two exceed the legal threshold of allowable market control, set at one-third of the market.

The KFTC has now given the firms three months to implement business adjustments to align with the nation’s competition law.

Full Content: Taipei Times

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