Supreme Court Recognizes Dispatch Relationship for Hyundai Motor Namyang Research Center Partner Company Workers

The Supreme Court has ruled that Hyundai Motor Company must directly employ workers from subcontractors who perform maintenance and management tasks for automobile testing equipment at Hyundai Motor's Namyang Research Center.

Supreme Court

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice No Jeong-hee) overturned the lower court ruling that denied the worker dispatch relationship in a lawsuit filed by 21 workers, including Mr. A, employed by a subcontractor at Hyundai Motor's Namyang Research Center, against Hyundai Motor to confirm their worker status, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

The court stated, "The plaintiffs were employed by subcontractors but worked under the direction and orders of the defendant (Hyundai Motor) at the defendant's automobile research and development facility, Namyang Research Center, engaging in maintenance tasks for the defendant. Therefore, it is highly likely that during the disputed period, the plaintiffs and the defendant had a worker dispatch relationship."

This case was filed in 2015, and in October 2018, the first trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff workers. At that time, the first trial court also determined that Hyundai Motor had an employment obligation.

The second trial court's judgment was different. In September 2019, the Seoul High Court overturned the first trial ruling, stating, "It is difficult to see that the plaintiffs had or have a worker dispatch relationship with the defendant," and dismissed all claims of the workers.

However, this ruling was again changed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court stated, "The lower court's judgment contains errors in the legal principles regarding the recognition of the worker dispatch relationship or failed to conduct necessary investigations, which affected the judgment," and remanded the case for further trial and judgment.

Choi Jong-yeon, the lead attorney representing the workers from the law firm Ilgwa Saram, said on his Facebook, "It is quite rare for a collective illegal dispatch case to be overturned and remanded by the Supreme Court," and expressed gratitude, saying, "I thank the Supreme Court for making a wise judgment."

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