Five Korean GM Executives Including President Kazem Indicted for "1,719 Illegal Dispatch Cases"

Prosecution Indicts 28 Without Detention Including 5 Korean GM Executives and 23 Partner Company Operators

Kaher Kazem, President of GM Korea, is taking his temperature while attending the "Automotive Industry Meeting for COVID-19 Response" held on the afternoon of the 21st at the Automobile Hall in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Five executives of Korea GM, including CEO and President Kaher Kazem, have been brought to trial on charges of illegally dispatching about 1,700 workers belonging to partner companies.

The Public Investigation Division of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office and the Criminal Division 4 of Changwon District Prosecutors' Office jointly indicted 28 people without detention on the 21st, including President Kazem and four other Korea GM executives, as well as 23 operators of partner companies, on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers. The prosecution also indicted the Korea GM corporation without detention.

The five Korea GM executives are accused of illegally dispatching 1,719 workers from 24 partner companies to Korea GM’s Incheon Bupyeong, Gyeongnam Changwon, and Jeonbuk Gunsan plants from September 1, 2017, to December 31 of last year. It was investigated that the Incheon Bupyeong plant received 797 workers from 14 partner companies, the Changwon plant received 774 workers from 8 partner companies, and the Gunsan plant received 148 workers from 2 partner companies illegally.

These workers belonging to the partner companies were assigned to 'direct production process' tasks such as automobile body manufacturing, painting, and assembly at the three Korea GM plants, which are prohibited from being dispatched under the relevant law.

The operators of the partner companies, who were indicted together, illegally dispatched workers to Korea GM plants during the same period without obtaining dispatch business permits from the Minister of Employment and Labor. According to Article 5 of the Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers, worker dispatch is only allowed for tasks deemed appropriate considering specialized knowledge or the nature of the work, excluding direct production process tasks in manufacturing.

Earlier, the Ministry of Employment and Labor began an investigation in January 2018 after the Korea GM Irregular Workers Branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union filed a complaint against Korea GM. In December of last year, after the prosecution sent President Kazem and others for indictment, supplementary investigations such as defendant questioning and on-site verification were conducted.

A prosecution official said, "The partner companies claimed they had a 'contract for outsourcing' without obtaining dispatch business permits and massively dispatched workers to direct production processes," adding, "As a result, illegal activities producing irregular workers have occurred at the automobile manufacturer."

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