'Unfair Dismissal by China Eastern Airlines' 70 Korean Flight Attendants Win Lawsuit Confirming Dismissal Invalidity

Refusal to Renew Permanent Contract Immediately After COVID-19 Outbreak
Court: "Discriminatory Dismissal Against Korean Flight Attendants"

China Eastern Airlines passenger plane Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Korean new flight attendants of China Eastern Airlines who were dismissed just before their conversion to regular employees right after the spread of COVID-19 filed a lawsuit for invalid dismissal and won in the first trial. This ruling is expected to influence related lawsuits involving employers not renewing contracts of fixed-term workers due to business deterioration and reduced operations after COVID-19.

On the morning of the 8th, the Civil Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Bonggi) ruled in favor of all plaintiffs in the first trial of a lawsuit filed by 70 Korean flight attendants of China Eastern Airlines against the company, seeking confirmation of invalid dismissal amounting to a total of 3.5 billion KRW.

The court stated, "The dismissal of the plaintiffs by the defendant is invalid," and accepted the full amount claimed. It further emphasized, "Refusal to renew the employment contracts was unlawful, and the plaintiffs are entitled to an expectation of renewal" and "Although the defendant claims there were reasonable grounds for refusal, it selectively refused renewal only to certain Korean flight attendants of a specific cohort, while continuing employment of other foreign flight attendants."

Previously, on March 11, 2020, China Eastern Airlines sent a 'Contract Expiration Notice' to all 70 Korean flight attendants of the 14th cohort working as fixed-term employees, notifying them that their contracts had expired and that renewal to regular employment was denied. At that time, due to the global decline in air travel demand caused by the spread of COVID-19, the airline industry was rapidly changing, and China Eastern Airlines cited changes in business conditions such as reduced international flights as reasons.

The flight attendants repeatedly requested negotiations regarding reinstatement schedules before and after their dismissal dates, but the company refused and paid severance. A month later, the flight attendants filed a lawsuit claiming that "the mass dismissal of new flight attendants without individual and specific review was an 'unfair dismissal.'"

They argued, "China Eastern Airlines renewed their employment contracts twice during their tenure, and set the return date from paid leave due to COVID-19 after the dismissal date," adding, "Until just before dismissal, they were instructed to complete training on new aircraft models, indicating an expectation of conversion to regular employment."

On the other hand, China Eastern Airlines countered, "The refusal to renew is based on reasons specified in the employment contract," stating, "Although the plaintiffs were hired for the Korea-China route, the number of flights on this route has decreased, and the number of regular Korean flight attendants besides the plaintiffs is excessive, so there are reasonable grounds for refusing contract renewal."

The law firm Ilgwa Saram representing the flight attendants stated, "To refute China Eastern Airlines' claims, the plaintiffs analyzed the proportion of flights they were assigned during their tenure and submitted records of international flights based in Shanghai and domestic flights in China."

Furthermore, "The lawsuit began its first trial only in November 2020 and proceeded for a total of two years and five months," adding, "To amicably resolve the dispute, a 'mediation process' was also undertaken, but China Eastern Airlines did not accept the mediation recommendation to 're-employ 20 of the 70 plaintiffs and pay a settlement amount for part of the wage claims of the remaining plaintiffs,' leading to the final judgment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.