Court: "Union Chairman Cannot Refuse Union Membership at Their Discretion"

Court / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court ruling has determined that a labor union chairman cannot arbitrarily refuse a worker's membership in the labor union.

The Seoul High Court Civil Division 1 (Presiding Judge Seung-eun Yoon) ruled in favor of Park, a dismissed worker from domestic manufacturer Company A, in a lawsuit against the Metal Workers' Union seeking confirmation of his status as a union member. The court reportedly judged that the regulation requiring the chairman's approval to obtain union membership infringes on the principle of freedom of union membership and is therefore invalid.

Park was dismissed from Company A in 1995 and demanded compensation from the company. In 2016, he applied to join the Metal Workers' Union. However, the Company A branch under the Metal Workers' Union rejected his membership after the chairman's approval, citing Park's past hostile activities toward the branch. Park filed a lawsuit in 2018, claiming that this rejection was an abuse of the chairman's authority.

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