Fed. of Korean Industries: "Supreme Court Ruling on Hyundai Motor and Kia In-house Subcontracting Direct Employment Regrettable... Causes Confusion"

"Subcontracting Contract Nullification... Concerns Over Increased Confusion"

"Illegal Dispatch Recognized Not Only in Direct Production Processes
But Also in Indirect Processes"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) issued a statement on the 27th expressing regret over the Supreme Court ruling that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia must directly employ in-house subcontracted workers as regular employees.

On the same day, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's partial ruling in favor of 430 in-house subcontracted workers who filed a lawsuit against Hyundai Motor and Kia to confirm their employee status. The Supreme Court stated, "A worker dispatch relationship under the Worker Dispatch Act was established in all processes handled by the plaintiffs."

Chu Gwang-ho, head of the FKI Economic Headquarters, began by saying, "We regret that the Supreme Court recognized illegal dispatch in the employee status confirmation lawsuit filed by Hyundai Motor's partner company workers."

Chu pointed out, "This ruling undermines the outsourcing contracts widely used in manufacturing, raising concerns about causing confusion in the industrial field. It also expands the scope of illegal dispatch recognition not only to direct production processes but also to indirect production processes such as production management, potentially causing unexpected damages to companies and other side effects."

He continued, "Unlike major advanced countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, Korea's dispatch system is very rigidly regulated, with permitted tasks limited and the duration restricted to two years. This has led to continuous unintended controversies over illegal dispatch in the field."

He added, "We hope that future rulings will reflect the reality of industrial sites where division of labor and cooperation between primary and subcontractors are necessary. Furthermore, we emphasize the hope that this ruling will serve as an opportunity for reasonable improvements to the dispatch system, which deviates from global standards."

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