An Asiana Airlines plane and a Korean Air plane are parked side by side at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Feb. 13. Yonhap

An Asiana Airlines plane and a Korean Air plane are parked side by side at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, Feb. 13. Yonhap

Unionized workers at Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest airline, said Tuesday they oppose a merger with larger rival Korean Air.

The company’s pilots’ union and a separate union of other employees issued a joint statement stressing their opposition to Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines, claiming that it would “clearly lead to national and public harm.”

“The so-called mega carrier that Korean Air promoted has become nothing more than a facade, serving only as a means for Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae to defend his management rights,” the unions said.

The unions noted that Korean Air has relinquished numerous air traffic rights during the regulatory merger review process and claimed that the company has transferred the domestic aviation industry’s revenue to foreign airlines.

Korean Air is in the process of acquiring Asiana, and it has so far obtained approval from 13 countries and regions for the acquisition, with the final one yet to come from the United States to complete the merger plan. (Yonhap)

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