The Korea Media and Communications Commission accepted Rapport Labs' withdrawal of its application to approve a change in the largest shareholder of SK Stoa and ended the review. However, it said it would separately look into possible violations of the Broadcasting Act, including whether management control or voting rights were exercised before approval and whether the existing stock purchase agreement was lawfully terminated.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) held its 24th general meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 22nd and received a related report. Rapport Labs applied for approval of the change in January, and the KMCC made three requests for supplementation before conducting an expert review from the 8th to the 10th of this month. The review committee said the financing capacity and plans to support the broadcasting business did not meet the approval standards. After Rapport Labs withdrew the application on the 16th, the approval process ended.
Rapport Labs is a startup that operates the 4050 women's fashion platform "Queenit." In December last year, it signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the equity in SK Telecom, SK Stoa, and Media S, the operator of Channel S. The transaction size was reported to be about 110 billion won. Rapport Labs planned to raise the acquisition funds through its cash on hand and venture capital investment. The deal drew industry attention as a rare case of a startup acquiring a broadcasting company affiliated with a large conglomerate.
Cheon Ji-hyeon, director general of the Broadcasting Media Promotion Bureau, said that since SK Telecom is currently the largest shareholder, the commission would verify the legality of the transaction's termination and whether management control was exercised before approval. Commissioners took issue with the withdrawal coming at the final stage of the review. Citing the possibility that the withdrawal aimed to avoid an unfavorable disposition and potential market confusion, they called for system improvements such as restricting reapplications and conducting stricter reviews of evasive applications.
Rapport Labs said it was difficult to maintain the existing application due to the signing of a new stock purchase agreement and changes to the transaction structure. It said it would prepare a new contract and follow-up procedures reflecting the views raised during the review process. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) also approved the 2024 broadcasting evaluation results and the 2025 basic plan for broadcasting evaluation on the same day.