Court: "Church members in charge of praise and performance during worship are also workers under the Labor Standards Act"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court ruling has determined that church members responsible for praise and musical performances during worship services should be considered workers.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 41 (Presiding Judge Myungsoo Kim) ruled effectively in favor of Plaintiff A and others in a wage lawsuit against Church B. The court ordered, "Church B must pay approximately 162.8 million KRW to Plaintiff A and others."

Previously, Plaintiff A and others filed a lawsuit in 2019 claiming they were owed severance pay and unused annual leave allowances from the church. They had been responsible for worship praise, musical performances, and various event duties as members of the church's arts committee for periods ranging from 6 to 23 years. The total claim amount reached 163 million KRW.

The key issue was whether Plaintiff A and others qualified as workers under the Labor Standards Act. If recognized as workers, the church would be obligated to pay the unpaid wages. Plaintiff A and others asserted that they were workers, while the church argued, "They worked as church members as part of worship and service."

The court accepted the claims of Plaintiff A and others. The court first noted that Plaintiff A and others were hired as full-time or part-time employees through procedures based on the church's personnel management regulations and received monthly salaries from the church. Although income tax was not withheld from their salaries, the court judged this was merely a circumstance arbitrarily set by the church, which held an economically superior position.

The court also found that Plaintiff A and others were subject to significant direction and supervision from the arts committee chairman and the team leader under his command, based on their responsibilities for performances and event duties. Considering these points comprehensively, the court concluded it was reasonable to view that the labor provided by Plaintiff A and others exceeded the scope of volunteer service as church members.

Recently, courts have been expanding the scope of worker recognition. In January 2019, newspaper delivery workers were recognized as workers under the Labor Standards Act; in November of the same year, freelance hairdressers; and in February last year, salespeople and managers contracted to manage stores in department stores were also recognized as workers under the Labor Standards Act.

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