Eligible for Assistance
The deliberation committee for the key industry stabilization fund held a meeting on July 2 and reached a conclusion that Korean Air is eligible for its assistance. The committee’s yardsticks include whether business difficulties such as a decline in sales have resulted from COVID-19 and whether a beneficiary can overcome its crisis and become competitive again with the aid of the fund.
The committee is planning to look into details once Korean Air makes a request. It is estimated that the company is in need of approximately one trillion won for the second half of this year. When it comes to Asiana Airlines, which is in the process of being acquired by HDC Hyundai Development, the committee will make a decision on eligibility later.
The key industry stabilization fund has provided about 400 billion won for low-cost carriers. According to the South Korean government, additional assistance can be provided depending on self-rescue efforts such as M&A and capital increase and from the national financial stability package program with a size of 135 trillion won rather than the 40 trillion won key industry stabilization fund.