This case constitutes the acquisition of Jinro Distillers Co., Ltd, a soju
distillery, by Hite Brewery Co., Ltd. The KFTC examined this particular
case based on the Guidelines for M&A Review. This case and the Muhak
Co., Ltd. and Daesun Distilling Co., Ltd. merger case proved that the
critical loss analysis could be useful in the market definition. The
respondent and its rival firms in the Hite-Jinro merger used this
methodology to support their claims. The KFTC accepted the argument of
the respondent to define the beer market and the soju market as the different
product markets. Given that Hite Brewery owned an affiliate soju distiller,
Hite Distillers Co., Ltd., this merger was considered to be both horizontal
and conglomerate mergers.