"10 Luxury Cars Provided to Labor Unions"…109 Cases Found Violating Time-Off Rules

Half of 202 Work Hour Exemption Supervisory Sites Found Violating Regulations

Processed food wholesaler Company A exceeded the allowable limit for working hours exemption by employing seven full-time union officials on salary, and provided annual operating expenses of 26.4 million KRW and 2.75 million KRW respectively to union executives under the titles of separate allowances and housing costs. Telecommunications and broadcasting equipment manufacturer Company B supported the union with lease fees of 170 million KRW for 10 luxury passenger cars including Genesis models, and annual fuel costs of 70 million KRW.

These are illegal cases of the 'Working Hours Exemption (Time Off) System' recently uncovered by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. According to the Ministry’s inspection results of the Time Off system, out of 202 workplaces checked, 109 (46%) were found to have violations such as exceeding the working hours exemption limit, the Ministry announced on the 18th.

It was found that 109 workplaces including some public enterprises, public institutions, and private companies abused the system by increasing the number of full-time union officials or supporting union executives with luxury vehicles such as Genesis cars.

As of the 16th, 94 out of the 109 violating workplaces (86.2%) have completed corrective actions, while the remaining 15 (13.8%) are in the process of correction. In the public sector, 46 out of 48 workplaces (95.8%) have completed corrections, and in private companies, 48 out of 61 workplaces (78.7%) have done so.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that if employers do not correct the violations, they will respond strictly with criminal penalties, and for the public sector, they will coordinate with related ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance to reflect the results in the management evaluations of public institutions.

The Ministry said, "We will continuously monitor workplaces undergoing correction, and if they fail to comply, we will take legal action. If violations are re-detected during inspections of workplaces that have completed corrections, we will immediately impose criminal penalties and plan to expand labor inspections considering the scale and industry."

(Provided by Ministry of Employment and Labor)

Time Off is a system where the employer exempts the working hours of full-time union officials engaged in activities related to joint labor-management interests such as labor negotiations, handling worker grievances, and industrial safety. It guarantees that union activities can be conducted while receiving a salary, with limits on exemption hours and personnel set based on the number of union members.

This inspection was conducted targeting 202 workplaces suspected of illegal activities based on last year’s survey results, in response to ongoing conflicts over illegal operating expense support by employers interfering in union activities and disputes over the working hours exemption limits among unions, aiming to strictly respond to illegal acts and establish labor-management rule of law.

Lee Sung-hee, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "The government will strive to establish proper law and principles through labor-management rule of law, and build labor-management relations where dialogue and compromise are effective on the foundation of the rule of law. To establish the rule of law across industrial sites, we will strengthen labor inspections on wage arrears, serious accidents, and unfair labor practices."

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