Court Rejects Injunction Request to Ban Assembly of Severance Cleaning Workers

Court: "Denying the Legitimacy of Union Activities is Difficult"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Yonsei University’s injunction request to stop the strike actions of cleaning workers at Severance Hospital has been dismissed.

The Civil Division 21 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Im Jeongyeop) dismissed on the 27th the injunction request filed by Yonsei University in March, which sought to prohibit the cleaning workers at Severance Hospital from staging sit-ins, assemblies, and protests.

The court recognized the legitimacy of the workers’ strike actions. Specifically, it cited ▲the indictment on criminal charges that the Severance Hospital’s office director and others formulated and executed a union-busting strategy, committing unfair labor practices ▲Severance Hospital being the actual workplace where the cleaning workers provide labor ▲Supreme Court precedents stating that even if strike actions at the workplace cause some infringement of certain legal interests, they should be socially tolerated.

In particular, regarding the request to ban assemblies or protests, the court emphasized, “The request to prohibit any assemblies or protests within 100 meters of Severance Hospital and its boundary is not specified at all, excessively restricting the workers’ right to work and freedom of expression.”

Additionally, the court stated, “Although some noise was generated, the assemblies were held during limited times such as lunch breaks or 30 to 40 minutes before and after working hours, so there is no urgent need to prohibit them,” and dismissed the requests to ban the installation of placards, posters, banners, and the erection of tents as unfounded.

In 2016, when the cleaning workers at Severance Hospital formed a union, the hospital and subcontractors reportedly obstructed union activities from the union’s establishment stage, including urging members to withdraw. In response, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office indicted nine people, including the hospital’s office director and the vice president of the service company, in March last year on charges of violating the Labor Union Act. The union has been conducting a tent sit-in in front of the hospital since November last year.

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