SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ki Wook Kang, Kyung Chun Kim, Junghae Kang and Do Kyeom Kim, Lee & Ko
1. Trends 1.1 M&A Market
thus public M&A transactions typically involve the acquisition of such controlling stake from the control - ling shareholder through share acquisition. However, if there is no controlling shareholder, or if the acquirer intends to go private after taking over the remain - ing shares following the acquisition of the controlling shareholder’s shares, or if the acquirer intends to con - duct a hostile takeover, a tender offer of a listed com - pany is another means by which to achieve a takeover of a listed company in Korea. Tender offers are primar - ily regulated by the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FISCMA). In recent years, there have been legislative efforts to introduce other means of conducting M&A transac - tions. For example, in 2012, the Korean Commercial Code (KCC) was amended to introduce triangular mergers. Despite such efforts, triangular mergers have rarely been used as a means of acquiring a company since its introduction, primarily because amendments to other laws and regulations such as tax legislation that are necessary in practice to make use of a trian - gular merger have not been completed. 2.2 Primary Regulators Regulation of M&A activity in Korea involves regula - tion of: • foreign direct investment; • foreign exchange; • M&A in certain industries, including financial ser - vices, securities, insurance, telecommunications and defence; • competition and antitrust matters; • trading of shares of listed companies; and • acquisitions of companies subject to bankruptcy or corporate restructuring. Different government agencies have supervisory responsibilities over these regulations. The Differing Agency Roles The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) oversees foreign direct investment in general while the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea jointly regulate matters relating to foreign exchange. Additionally, M&A activity in certain indus - tries (for example, financial services, defence, avia -
The total value of M&A transactions completed in Korea in 2025 amounted to KRW90.72 trillion, rep - resenting an approximately 82.8% year-on-year increase. The number of completed transactions totalled 691, up by 121 deals from the prior year. See the South Korea Trends and Developments chapter in this guide for further details. 1.2 Key Trends See the South Korea Trends and Developments chap - ter in this guide for a discussion on key trends. 1.3 Key Industries Several large-scale transactions in the energy and infrastructure sector took place as part of broader portfolio restructuring efforts by conglomerates. The cosmetics and beauty device sector also recorded a number of transactions, supported by the global popularity of K-beauty and the growth of the aes - thetic medical device market. In addition, demand for M&A increased in the technology sector as companies sought to secure new sources of growth, including by expanding into AI and semiconductor industries. The different methods of acquiring a company typi - cally utilised in other jurisdictions – share acquisition, asset purchase and merger – are also available in Korea. Regardless of whether the target company is listed or unlisted, the most common form of acquiring a company in Korea is through the acquisition of its shares. The second most common form is an asset purchase, which has to take the form of a business acquisition if an entire business is purchased through an asset purchase. In the case of a merger, it is used mainly as a means of restructuring between affiliated companies and rarely used as a buyout method. The reason why share acquisition is the primary tool for acquiring a listed company in Korea is due to the unique shareholding structure. It is often the case that listed companies have a controlling shareholder and 2. Overview of Regulatory Field 2.1 Acquiring a Company
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