A merger between HMM and SM Line is needed for the country to compete with European rivals, according to Korea Shipowners Association (KSA) vice chairman Kim Young-moo.
He told Aju News that overseas lines are forming cartels and domestic owners need to bulk up as a result.
HMM and SM Line both scooped some of the fleet of collapsed Hanjin Shipping.
HMM has 65 ships, but 20 of these are on order, including 20 boxships and five VLCCs. SM has 21 vessels.
Kim said: "We should consider the merger between Hyundai Merchant Marine and SM Lines.
"We will be able to compete with cartelised European shippers if we can quickly increase our loading capacity, reduce various costs, and streamline our routes through mergers."
Kim believes Korea should have combined Hanjin Shipping and HMM to create a big company with a capacity of 1m teu.
"You must learn a lesson from this failure," Kim said.
"The capacity of Hyundai Merchant and SM Lines is estimated at 400,000 teu and 170,000 teu, respectively.
"Currently, we have no ability to take cargo from European shipping companies. We should enhance our competitiveness by increasing the number of ships and fleet through mergers."
