Korean Air Lines (Korean Air) has signed a "basic business sale agreement" with South Korean cargo carrier Air Incheon for the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo unit. 

A regulatory filing on August 7 stated that Asiana's cargo business will be sold for KRW 470 billion won (US$342 million) in a deal that will likely make Air Incheon, a relatively smaller-cargo airline, South Korea's second-biggest freight carrier.

Korean Air added that the signed deal covered various matters, including the structure, schedule and conditions of the sale. The sale would transfer Asiana's fleet, staff, customers, and traffic rights to Air Incheon, which is based at Incheon Airport, one of the world's busiest cargo hubs.

The deal comes after Air Incheon was named as the preferred bidder for the sale of Asiana Airlines' global cargo freighter business as part of Korean Air's takeover of Asiana Airlines.

Asiana's cargo business was put on sale for Korean Air to secure regulatory approval from anti-trust authorities in the European Union (EU), which wanted Asiana's cargo business sold before they gave full approval for the merger, first announced in November 2020.

The European Commission earlier threw a curved ball to the planned Korean Air-Asiana merger, arguing that the takeover would reduce competition between Europe and South Korea.

Korean Air offered to sell Asiana's cargo unit in October last year to finally get their green light.

In February, Korean Air announced that the European Commission had issued "conditional clearance" on its business combination with Asiana Airlines. This clearance is conditional on the airline's compliance with certain commitments agreed upon with the EC, including its divestment of Asiana Airlines' cargo freighter business.