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SEOUL : South Korea's anti-trust watchdog said Thursday it has fined the country's two major airlines a total of 10 million dollars for hampering the activities of low-budget operators.
Main flag carrier Korean Air was fined 10.39 billion won (9.2 million dollars) while the number two Asiana Airlines was hit with a 640 million won fine, the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement.
The commission said the two airlines had "abused their dominant market power to hamper low-budget airlines' entry into the market and their business activities".
Korean Air and Asiana tried to force local tour agencies not to deal with local and foreign low-budget competitors by threatening to cut their financial rebates to the agencies, it said.
As of the end of November, there were 27 air transport service providers in the country but Korean Air and Asiana still command around 90 percent of the passenger air traffic market.
- AFP/vm
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