Amid the challenging economic and geopolitical conditions, 2023 saw a decline in merger activities in Korea. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”), however, remained active in its merger enforcement focusing on certain sectors, resulting in longer review periods and more than usual post-submission requests for supplemental information for transactions in those sectors. In particular, the KFTC actively exercised its enforcement power and explored flexible application of existing theories of harm in merger cases in the semiconductor and technology sectors.

To read more about (i) the KFTC’s merger control activities in 2023, (ii) M&A trends, (iii) KFTC merger enforcement trends, and (iv) expectations for 2024, please refer to the attached report.