Asiana Airlines shareholders overwhelmingly approved the carrier's merger with Korean Air, clearing a final corporate step before the combined airline launches as Unified Korean Air on December 17. The resolution passed at an extraordinary general meeting in Seoul with 99.3% support from attending shareholders, who represented 81.9% of total voting shares. Under the merger terms signed on May 14, Asiana will be absorbed by Korean Air, and Asiana common shareholders will receive 0.2736432 new Korean Air shares for each share held. Korean Air plans to issue 20,337,721 new merger shares, which are scheduled to list on January 4 next year. The merger date is set for December 16, followed by Korean Air's merger registration and Asiana's dissolution registration on December 17. The transaction closes a consolidation process that began in November 2020 and, according to Asiana Airlines CEO Song Bo-young, will mark the first step toward creating a mega carrier. Management said the integration will focus on employee harmony, limiting customer disruption, and consulting with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (South Korea antitrust regulator) on mileage program integration. Korean Air expects network, cargo and procurement synergies from the combination, while external estimates cited by the company put integration costs at about 900 billion won to 1 trillion won and annual synergies at 300 billion won, with benefits expected to offset costs after 2028.