Asiana union to seek indictment of CEO for 'breach of trust'

Unionized Asiana Airlines workers plan to indict CEO Won Yoo-seok for breach of trust over the proposed merger with Korean Air Lines.

Unionized Asiana Airlines workers hold a press conference opposing their employer's merger with Korean Air Lines in central Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Unionized Asiana Airlines workers will seek the indictment of CEO Won Yoo-seok for breach of trust in their latest collective action against the company's proposed merger with Korean Air Lines.

“We recently discovered that CEO Won transferred two A350 carriers to Korean Air Lines even though the merger hadn't happened yet, giving up multibillion won of profit and causing a drop in share prices,” said Choi Do-sung, head of a labor union representing pilots at Asiana Airlines. “This clearly is a breach of trust.”

Asiana Airlines CEO Won Yoo-seok [JOONGANG ILBO]

Choi also added that pilots are prepared for a collective resignation if Asiana Airlines sells its freight business to Air Incheon. Korean Air Lines, in early June selected the budget carrier as the preferred buyer for the division.

“It's highly doubtful that Air Incheon could make further investment and maintain employment,” Choi said. “The reason why Korean Air Lines attempts to sell the cargo business to a budget carrier is their intention to place the very small carrier in the rival position and dominate the business later on.

“Unionized workers are trying to reach Korean Air's chief executives to discuss the retainment of employees and treatment, but they remain neglected.”

The European Commission originally proposed the sale of the cargo business, valued at around 1 trillion won ($730 million), due to the monopoly of European cargo routes that the potential merger might enable.

Asiana's pilot union, earlier this week, sent a letter to the European Union demanding that it reconsider the takeover.

The merger, initiated in November 2020 and now in its fourth year of negotiation, only awaits approval from the United States among the 14 mandatory reporting countries. Korean Air Lines expects to receive that approval in October.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]