National University Employee Who Arbitrarily Fired Cancer Patient and Spread Affair Rumors: Court Upholds Dismissal

"Procedural Flaws in Disciplinary Process" Claim Rejected by Court
"Does Not Affect Validity of Dismissal"

An employee of a national university cooperative in the Gangwon region was dismissed for dozens of misconducts, including workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and fraudulent receipt of overtime allowances. Although the employee claimed the dismissal was invalid due to procedural flaws in the disciplinary process, the court ruled that the disciplinary action was legitimate.

On November 18, the Civil Division 2 of the Chuncheon Division of the Seoul High Court upheld the lower court's decision, ruling against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a former employee, referred to as A, of the university cooperative in Gangwon, who sought to have the dismissal declared invalid.

Chuncheon District Court and Seoul High Court Chuncheon Division. Yonhap News Agency

A joined the organization in 2002 and had been serving as the head of planning at the cooperative's secretariat since 2022. In May 2023, A was suspended and placed on standby due to workplace harassment and sexual harassment, and was subsequently dismissed in July of the same year.

According to the complaint, A pressured an employee, referred to as B, who worked at the university, not to submit overtime work requests. When making personnel changes to B's team, A did not obtain B's consent, and attempted to sign an employment contract with B without considering a salary increase, demanding B submit a resignation letter if they could not accept these terms. Furthermore, A spread rumors in the workplace alleging that B was having an affair with a married supervisor. B filed a complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the labor authorities confirmed A's misconduct.

It was also revealed that A caused financial losses to the university. For approximately ten years, starting in 2013, A frequented a partner coffee shop with acquaintances and consumed beverages without paying. A also arbitrarily removed a refrigerated showcase from the university convenience store and donated it to an acquaintance's farm cabin.

Other disciplinary issues included forcing employees to resign before the end of the workday without clear explanation, or demanding monetary compensation. Notably, A arbitrarily dismissed an employee who had been diagnosed with liver cancer and was undergoing treatment, citing the expiration of the employment contract. As a result, the university was required to pay an additional one month's salary as dismissal notice compensation. In total, sixteen cases of misconduct were identified, including unauthorized removal and private use of university assets.

"A's Actions Exceeded the Proper Scope of Work"

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) Pixabay

A argued that the dismissal was invalid, claiming that they were not informed of the specific reasons for the disciplinary action and were not given sufficient opportunity to defend themselves during the disciplinary process. A also contended that their actions did not exceed the proper scope of work and did not constitute workplace harassment. A demanded approximately 110 million won in unpaid wages and various allowances, claiming the dismissal was unfair.

The first trial court did not accept A's arguments. It found that the notice to appear before the disciplinary committee included explanations regarding about twenty disciplinary charges, making it difficult to conclude that there were procedural flaws. Regarding the workplace harassment against B, the court found B's testimony credible and determined that A's actions exceeded the proper scope of work.

The court stated, "The plaintiff's disciplinary actions were numerous and spanned a long period, and in most cases, A completely disregarded internal regulations and reporting procedures, handling work arbitrarily or using and disposing of assets without authorization. These actions were intentional, not negligent." The court further noted, "The victims of workplace harassment and sexual harassment suffered significant psychological distress, and rather than showing remorse, the plaintiff filed criminal complaints for false accusation against employees who testified before the disciplinary committee and attempted to justify their own actions, indicating a risk of repeated misconduct."

A appealed the first-instance ruling, but the appellate court found the original judgment reasonable and dismissed the appeal. Meanwhile, the cooperative filed a lawsuit against A for damages resulting from the unauthorized removal and donation of the refrigerated showcase to an acquaintance's farm cabin, and the appellate court upheld the first-instance ruling, ordering A to pay approximately 7.8 million won in damages.

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