The chairman of the board of directors of Korean Air, Shim I-taek and the representative of its pilot union Yang Han-woong signed an agreement Wednesday evening to end the two-day old strike at the airline. A company spokesman said the national flag carrier is expected to resume normal operations Thursday.
Sources said KAL management agreed not to file any suits against strikers and to appeal to justice authorities to minimize any legal punishment. The two sides also agreed to freeze salaries, as well as the number of foreign pilots.
The settlement of the labor dispute is expected to help defuse the strikes in other sectors. The two-day strike had resulted in mass cancellation of flights with company losses estimated at W45 billion, or about US$38 million. The breakthrough at Korean Air is expected to take the heat out of a general strike being engineered by the hard-line Korea Confederation of Trade Unions. Government officials hope compromises will be reached at Asiana Airlines and at a number of hospitals.
