With the merger of Korean Air Lines(003490) and Asiana Airlines(020560), the labor-management conflict at Korean Air Lines over the pilot seniority system is headed to the labor commission after failing to resolve it internally. The Korean Air Lines pilots' union already passed a strike action plan at a general meeting, so if it cannot reach an agreement with management at the labor commission, it will secure the right to strike.
Korean Air Lines is proceeding with merger procedures with Asiana Airlines, aiming to launch the integrated Korean Air Lines on Dec. 17. But for the pilot group, internal conflict remains unresolved, creating a situation in which a strike could occur right before the merger.
According to the aviation industry on the 27th, the Korean Air Lines pilots' union applied for "pre-mediation assistance" to the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 24th. The union held 16 rounds of talks with management since October last year, but they broke down.
Pre-mediation assistance is a system in which, before entering formal mediation, the parties seek the commission's help to resolve a dispute by mutual agreement. In this process, the commission can facilitate talks or present recommendations or alternatives.
Unlike formal mediation, which requires only an application, pre-mediation assistance requires the consent of both labor and management to begin, but Korean Air Lines has not yet agreed to start. Unlike formal mediation, which typically has a 20–30 day deadline, there is no separate time limit, so consent can be given at any time.
However, the union says it confirmed major differences during previous negotiations and plans to apply for formal mediation this week if management does not agree to start pre-mediation assistance.
Korean Air Lines labor and management have failed to agree on including "seniority on the bargaining agenda." The union says changes to seniority that affect employee status are subject to the collective agreement and therefore must be included on the agenda.
Seniority is a key factor in captain promotion, salary, rank, and compensation. The labor-management conflict over it arose when Korean Air Lines decided to merge with Asiana Airlines, which has different pilot hiring standards.
At Korean Air Lines, pilot hiring eligibility begins at 1,000 flight hours, while at Asiana Airlines it is 300 hours. Korean Air Lines plans to set post-merger seniority based on date of entry (for civilian pilots) and date of discharge (for military-background pilots), but the union argues that the two companies' seniority should not be set that way when their hiring eligibility differs from the outset.
The union argues that the previously concluded collective agreement stipulates that seniority is set by labor-management agreement, and that even under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act Article 2 and 3 amendment (the yellow envelope law, a new labor law aimed at strengthening the bargaining rights of subcontract workers), changes to employee status are subject to industrial action and therefore to bargaining. Korean Air Lines management counters that seniority falls under management's personnel authority.
Korean Air Lines labor and management have also failed to conclude the 2024 collective agreement and the 2025 wage negotiations. As a result, internal dissatisfaction has continued to be raised, and labor and management even proceeded with those negotiations excluding the seniority issue and produced a tentative agreement.
However, the union demanded an agreement to discuss the seniority issue in the 2026 wage and collective bargaining, and management's refusal to accept this ultimately led to the application for pre-mediation assistance.
In early April, the union held a regular general meeting to vote on strike action, and with 80% of members in favor, it initiated procedures to secure the right to strike. If pre-mediation assistance does not start this week and formal mediation proceeds, mediation must be concluded within 30 days.
If labor and management still fail to reach an agreement, the procedure ends with non-settlement, and the union gains the right to strike. A strike could take place as early as October.
A Korean Air Lines official said, "Seniority is part of the company's inherent personnel authority, and the seniority plan the pilots' union is advocating will not help foster harmony among employees and a safety culture after integration," adding, "We are reviewing the pilots' union's application for pre-mediation assistance internally, and separately, we plan to continue communicating with the union."