Unionized pilots of Korean Air decided to resume negotiations over wages with management, Tuesday.
Executive members of the pilots' union held a meeting to discuss ways of settling their dispute with management.
"We will resume talks. We are expecting management to show a sincere attitude," the union said.
The pilots have staged a work-to-rule campaign instead of going on strike since they voted for industrial action, Feb. 19 after failing to reach an agreement with the management over a wage hike.
The company earlier asked the union to resume negotiations, Monday after firing a pilot, surnamed Park, for rejecting a flight order.
The pilots called for the company to withdraw the dismissal and to accept their proposal in a joint rally with union members of Asiana Airlines and the Korea Airport Corp. in front of the company's headquarters in western Seoul on Tuesday.
Management decided to postpone a qualification review committee meeting to further punish him and 20 flight attendants who put stickers denouncing managers on their suitcases.
The company said that it decided to dismiss Park for violating the flight operation manual code and hampering normal business operations. Park reportedly plans to appeal to the qualification review committee.
The company claimed that Park intentionally delayed the departure of a flight bound for Manila on Feb. 21 by rejecting an order to fly the return flight to Incheon. The union said Park's action was based on a rule that bans 12 hours of straight flying within a day.
The pilots have demanded a 37 percent hike in wages, while the company proposed a 1.9 percent increase, considering the wage growth rate for non-pilot workers.
Korean Air was hit hard by a pilots' strike in 2005, calling for a wage hike and for management transparency. The strike caused huge losses to the company and inconvenience to passengers.
On Feb. 25, Korean Air filed a court injunction against the recent union's vote for a strike, claiming the vote was invalid due to procedural problems.
The company also filed a suit against some union members for holding stickers "groundlessly" damaging the reputation of the company and its chairman.