"Final Appeal on Compensation, Supreme Court Criticized by Six Economic Groups for Citing Exceptional Precedents as a 'Trick'"

Joint Statement by 6 Economic Organizations including KEC
"Condemnation of Supreme Court's Illegal Strike Damage Compensation Ruling"

Six major economic organizations recently criticized the Supreme Court ruling related to the Hyundai Motor in-house subcontractor strike damage compensation lawsuit as a "cunning ruling." They expressed concerns that even if the company suffers damage due to an illegal strike, the ruling protects the union members involved in the illegal act rather than the actual victims, potentially exacerbating confusion at the frontline workplaces.

Lee Dong-geun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation (fourth from the left), along with representatives from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Association of Mid-sized Enterprises, are issuing a joint statement condemning the recent Supreme Court ruling on lawsuits seeking damages against labor unions at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Dong-geun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation, stated in a joint statement on the 20th, "The Supreme Court denied the basic principles of civil law and made a ruling that undermines the foundation of the rule of law in our industrial sites," adding, "It created a new precedent law that protects union members involved in illegal acts." The principle is not to separately evaluate the responsibility ratio of the actors for damages caused by joint illegal acts, but an exception was made only for illegal dispute actions.

Vice President Lee said, "This is a cunning ruling that cited a very exceptional Supreme Court precedent, which individually evaluates responsibility ratios, for illegal dispute actions." The joint statement was made by the Korea Employers Federation along with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea International Trade Association, Federation of Korean Industries, Korea Federation of SMEs, and Korea Association of Mid-sized Enterprises.

The economic community expects this ruling to effectively limit employers' claims for damages. Vice President Lee pointed out, "Even now, industrial sites frequently experience illegal acts such as violence by militant unions and workplace occupations," adding, "It is practically impossible to individually evaluate each union member's contribution to damages, such as wearing masks, covering CCTV cameras, or damaging property."

He continued, "If liability for damages is limited according to the degree of illegal participation and contribution to damages, it will ultimately result in effectively blocking the employer's claims for damages despite clear illegal acts and damages, making industrial sites lawless zones."

On November 17, 2010, Hyundai Motor Company’s irregular workers were occupying Ulsan Plant 3 and staging a strike protest. Supervisory staff were guarding the production line nearby.

Regarding the Supreme Court's statement that the ruling was made to avoid suppressing the right to organize and collective action, he pointed out, "The in-house subcontractor union members illegally occupied the factory, which is an illegal act unrelated to the right to organize." He added that the other precedent cited by the Supreme Court as a basis for limiting liability concerns reducing responsibility for general union members who merely participated in illegal dispute actions and should be viewed in a different context.

He also expressed concerns about the ongoing Labor Union Act amendment being discussed in the National Assembly. Vice President Lee said, "The amendment goes beyond this Supreme Court ruling by fundamentally denying joint liability for union illegal acts and expanding the scope of employers with vague and abstract concepts," warning, "If the amendment passes, it will undermine the foundation of our legal system, cause a series of rulings that destroy labor-management relations, and our country's companies and economy will collapse helplessly."

From the left, Park Yang-gyun, Head of Policy Headquarters at the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises; Chu Kwang-ho, Head of Economic and Industrial Headquarters at the Federation of Korean Industries; Kim Go-hyun, Executive Director of the Korea International Trade Association; Lee Dong-geun, Senior Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation; Kang Seok-gu, Head of the Research Headquarters at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Lee Myung-ro, Head of the Workforce Policy Headquarters at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, are announcing a joint statement on the 20th.

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