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A Korean Air airliner

After initiating emergency management protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean Air is placing 70% of its employees on six months of paid leave.

The airline announced on Apr. 7 that the six months of leave will last from Apr. 16 and last through Oct. 15, applying to the entire workforce on a rotating basis. This means that all employees working domestically, except for essential staff in each department, will be taking time off.

According to airline staff, the leave will apply to more than 70% of the total workforce. As of the end of last year, there were 19,063 people working for Korean Air, including those on short-term contracts.

The labor union at Korean Air intends to respect the company’s plan for leave in the interest of doing its part to help the company get back on its feet again.

Earlier, the South Korean government designated the airline industry as one of the sectors eligible for special employment assistance, which means that Korean Air can be compensated for as much as 90% of pay given to furloughed workers. Korean Air plans to use the government’s employment assistance to give furloughed employees the equivalent of their standard pay (their nominal wages, not including bonuses and benefits).

“Employees on leave will receive around 70% of their typical wages,” said a spokesperson for Korean Air.

Beginning this month, company executives will be returning 30-50% of their monthly wages to the company. Vice presidents and above are planning to give back 50% of their pay, executive directors 40%, and managing directors 30% until business conditions have been normalized. This means that CEO Cho Won-tae, who earned about 32 million won (US$26,267) a month last year, will see his monthly wages reduced to about 15 million won (US$12,313).

Korean Air, the largest airline in the country, is facing a business crisis after it was forced to suspend about 90% of its total flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has been taking aggressive measures to cut costs, such as putting 390 foreign pilots on three months of unpaid leave starting Apr. 1.

“We’ll be working to further strengthen the company by acquiring further capital and by selling unused assets, including the property in the Songhyeon neighborhood [near Gyeongbok Palace], as previously announced,” a company spokesperson said.

By Park Su-ji, staff reporter

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