Court Rules "Everland Union Established by Samsung Is Invalid from the Start"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Everland labor union, established according to the labor-management strategy of Samsung Group, has been ruled by the court to be invalid from the outset.

On the 26th, the 2nd Civil Division of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the Korean Metal Workers' Union (Metal Union) seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the establishment of the Everland union.

In 2019, the Metal Union filed a lawsuit with the court, claiming that Samsung Group established a company-led union to prevent the formation of the Everland union.

On this day, the court stated, "The Everland company union was established due to unfair labor practices by the employer and does not meet the substantial requirements under the Constitution and the Labor Union Act, thus its establishment is confirmed to be invalid." It added, "There is insufficient evidence to recognize that the company union operates independently and autonomously, free from employer intervention."

The Metal Union stated, "Although Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung has directly apologized for union busting and several related criminal rulings have followed, the company union has continued to hold bargaining rights at the workplace." They added, "We hope that Samsung respects the court's decision, normalizes the bargaining process that was conducted through the company union, and rectifies labor-management relations even at this point."

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