Regarding Hyundai Wia's Non-Regular Workers' Direct Employment Ruling... Business Community Calls It "Unreasonable Corporate Regulation" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Supreme Court's ruling that Hyundai Wia must directly employ in-house subcontracted non-regular workers has raised concerns among companies. The business community evaluated the ruling as an unreasonable decision that does not conform to global standards.

On the 8th, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling in the appeal trial of a lawsuit filed by 64 employees belonging to Hyundai Wia's in-house partner companies, ordering "the defendant to express the intention to employ the plaintiffs."

The partner company employees filed a lawsuit in 2014, claiming that "Hyundai Wia used the plaintiffs for more than two years or assigned them to tasks not subject to worker dispatch, thus it has an obligation for direct employment."

However, Hyundai Wia argued, "The plaintiffs belong to in-house partner companies and are not under the defendant's command and supervision, so a worker dispatch relationship does not exist."

The first and second trials ruled that Hyundai Wia must directly employ them, and this time the Supreme Court also affirmed the lower court's judgment.

Regarding the Supreme Court's ruling, Hyundai Wia stated, "The boundary between consignment and dispatch is not defined by law but judged only by court interpretation, causing ongoing confusion in the industrial field, and the costs arising from illegal dispatch judgments are all borne by companies, which is a regrettable reality."

Hyundai Wia expressed concern that lawsuits from about 2,000 dispatched employees of partner companies would continue. The company said, "Our company has been struggling with management difficulties for years due to rapid changes in the mobility market and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this situation, we are very worried about whether we can bear the enormous burden arising from this ruling."

This ruling by Hyundai Wia may affect ongoing major corporate lawsuits surrounding the direct employment of non-regular workers. Conflicts over illegal dispatch are deepening not only at Hyundai Wia but also at Hyundai Motor, Kia, Korea GM, POSCO, and Hyundai Steel.

Companies argue that dispatched workers perform only simple tasks under legitimate consignment contracts, so it is not illegal dispatch, but courts are not accepting this, causing companies to struggle with countermeasures.

The business community also voiced concerns. On the same day, the Korea Employers Federation stated, "It is very regrettable that an illegal dispatch decision was made despite Hyundai Wia's partner companies having independence such as exercising personnel authority and operating separate processes distinct from the primary contractor."

The Federation pointed out, "Korea imposes strong regulations that do not conform to global standards, such as a complete ban on dispatch in manufacturing, and judging the legality of consignment based on laws protecting dispatched workers is a very unreasonable measure. Moreover, court rulings are inconsistent depending on the case, reducing corporate management flexibility and predictability."

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