Korean Air Lines, South Korea’s top flag carrier, dismissed a pilot on 7 March 2016 for taking part in a work-to-rule. The pilot, named only as “Park”, was accused of «intentionally» delaying the takeoff of a plane bound for Manila and defying the company order to fly it back to Incheon. Trade union officials argued that he refused to fly back because it would have been against the rules that ban a 12-hour consecutive flight within a day. His decision was therefore in line with the union’s order to stick to working rules. On the day following Park’s dismissal, more than 200 pilots staged a rally to call for his reinstatement and to urge the company to accept their proposals.
Korean Air pilots had voted to go on strike on 19 February 2016 after their leaders and company representatives failed to reach agreement on salary and working conditions. The pilots were seeking a 37 per cent pay rise, while the company proposed a 1.9 per cent increase. On 25 February Korean Air sought a court injunction against the union vote for a strike, claiming that the vote was «invalid» due to procedural issues. That request was turned down by the Seoul Southern District Court on 15 April, however. The company also filed a defamation suit in February against 20 pilots, which it finally dropped at the end of April.
Negotiations dragged on, and the unions reduced their demand from a 37 per cent rise to a 29 per cent rise. The company refused to change its original proposal, however, and on 22 December 2016 the pilots resumed strike action in frustration. A week later they called off the strike, agreeing to try to move negotiations forward once again.