(image: VistaJet International Ltd)
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has decided to ease its restrictions on foreign ownership of private jets.
These limitations have served as a stumbling block preventing domestic companies from registering private jets.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport sasid Tuesday that it would move forward with a revision of the Aviation Safety Act towards excluding the registration of private jets for purposes other than commercial aviation from the list subject to restrictions based on foreign stake and equity ownership.
Under the current Aviation Safety Act, business entities in which foreigners have more than a 50 percent stake or exercise virtual control are restricted from registering the private jets they own or rent.
This provision was designed to prevent foreign companies from entering the domestic aviation industry, and has been applied for both non-commercial and commercial aircraft at the same time.
The provision, however, has been criticized as a hurdle in corporate management since it applies the standards for commercial airplanes to the private jets owned by general companies.
According to a study conducted by the Korea Legislation Research Institute based on a request from the ministry, the number of domestic companies in which foreigners have more than a 50 percent stake totaled 31 as of last year among about 100 listed companies with assets of more than 2 trillion won (US$1.73 billion).
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
