"Equal Pay for Equal Work" Yonsei University Staff Lose Lawsuit Against School

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[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Yonsei University employees who were converted from indefinite-term contract workers to regular employees in 2013 lost a lawsuit against the school, claiming "unfair discrimination" due to wage differences with existing regular employees.

The Civil Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Park Taeil) announced on the 18th that it ruled against 83 administrative office staff at Yonsei University Mirae Campus who filed a lawsuit against the school corporation demanding payment of approximately 4.08 billion KRW in wage differences.

The court stated that although some duties between the administrative office staff and the existing regular administrative management staff are similar, there are differences, and it is difficult to recognize that the administrative office staff and administrative management staff belong to essentially the same comparison group or that there is no rational reason for differential treatment.

Furthermore, the court noted that the appointment process for administrative management staff is more difficult and strict than that for administrative office staff, and that the administrative management staff have longer years of service, stating, "Even if the nature of the work of the practical staff is relatively similar at the current point in time, it cannot be concluded that the administrative management staff and administrative office staff belong to the same comparison group based on that fact alone."

In January of last year, 83 administrative office staff filed a lawsuit claiming, "Yonsei University has an obligation to pay integrated and seniority allowances, among others, that have not been paid compared to administrative management staff since 2018."

They argued that "an employer cannot discriminate in working conditions based on the worker's gender, nationality, faith, or social status, and the administrative office staff position or job group is a social status that cannot be avoided by the individual's will or ability, so discrimination in allowance payments due to being administrative office staff is illegal."

Regular employees at Yonsei University Mirae Campus are divided into administrative management staff and administrative office staff. In 2013, Yonsei University established the administrative office staff position and incorporated indefinite-term contract workers into this group, converting them to regular employees. Existing regular employees were classified as administrative management staff.

According to the court, the two job groups were subject to different compensation regulations. It was found that administrative management staff generally received higher total salaries compared to administrative office staff.

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