Public Official Filming Disneyland YouTube Video During Business Trip... Court Rules "Dismissal Justified"

A public institution employee who privately visited Disneyland Resort and filmed personal YouTube videos during an overseas business trip was lawfully dismissed, according to a court ruling. On the 4th, the 11th Civil Division of Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Yoo Sang-ho) announced that it ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a research staff member of the Korea Internet & Security Agency challenging the validity of their dismissal.

A ruling has been made that the dismissal of a public institution employee who privately visited Disneyland Resort during an overseas business trip and filmed a personal YouTube video is justified. The photo is unrelated to the specific content of the article. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

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The incident began around September 2022 when Mr. A attended an international academic conference held in Orlando, USA, on a government business trip lasting about a week. During the trip, Mr. A privately visited the local Disneyland Resort. Afterwards, Mr. A posted content introducing facilities such as the resort’s swimming pool on his personal YouTube channel and his spouse’s blog. This led to an anonymous report alleging misconduct by Mr. A.

Following the anonymous report, the Korea Internet & Security Agency launched an investigation and dismissed Mr. A on grounds of leaving the workplace, engaging in private activities during working hours, and violating the duty to maintain dignity. Dissatisfied with the dismissal, Mr. A claimed that "since the resort facilities were used during free time outside of work hours on an overseas business trip, no private activities were conducted, and there was no profit-making activity such as income generation or sponsorship through the blog that would violate the prohibition on concurrent employment," asserting the dismissal was invalid.

However, the court did not accept Mr. A’s claims. The court cited, among other reasons, that there was no cancellation of the conference schedule at the time the video was filmed. It further judged that "since Mr. A did not participate in conference sessions aligned with the purpose of the business trip, the activities conducted during working hours constitute private activities." The court also stated, "Such conduct risks causing controversy over a leisure-oriented business trip and undermines public trust in public institutions," concluding that "the misconduct, including leaving the workplace during work hours and publicly posting private activities, is not minor, making dismissal appropriate."

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