As reported before, in early 2020 the Korean Fair Trade Commission expressed concern that the Skypass devaluation was an unfair practice and recommended that Korean Air address the matter (this has no legal power, but it is very unusual for companies to ignore such recommendations). Unlike courts in the U.S., the KFTC has an established precedent that miles constitute monetary rights -- a form of currency owned by the customers who hold them (and not by the airlines or the issuers of the miles). In May 2020, KE re-submitted an unrevised plan to the KFTC, ignoring all recommendations, and bulldozed ahead with their devaluation plan. This triggered an escalation where the KFTC launched a proper full-fledged investigation of the new terms and conditions.

Now the situation has changed. KE needs to be in the good graces of the KFTC because KE needs the KFTC to approve its merger with Asiana. KE attempted to circumvent this problem by delaying the devaluation by 2 years (so that the KE-OZ merger would be safely settled by the time KE goes to war with the KFTC over Skypass devaluations), but the KFTC said no dice. The KE-OZ merger and the Skypass devaluation are separate independent matters, but the KFTC has stated that guaranteeing fair financial value for customers in the mileage program(s) is part of their antitrust considerations in the KE-OZ merger, and that they want changes in the Skypass program to be settled with terms that are fair to consumers prior to any conclusive evaluation of the effects of the KE-OZ merger on consumer rights.

As such, after a year of investigation, the KFTC is now ordering KE to correct what the KFTC deems unfair practices in the Skypass devaluation. Again, this is not legally binding, and KE can refuse, but then the KFTC can take KE to the courts. KE likely wants to avoid such confrontations at all costs. KE is continuing to plead their case that they have not in fact devaluated customers' financial rights, but has pledged to work with the KFTC's process. The necessary adjustments to the new Skypass terms and conditions are to be finalized by March.

News report in Korean: https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2021012918303626553