Supreme Court: Samsung C&T Must Renegotiate Agreements Made with Pro-Company Union with Current Union

The Supreme Court has ruled that a company must renegotiate employment conditions, even those established during negotiations with a so-called "pro-company union," with the union that is currently recognized as having collective bargaining rights. This means that agreements made with a pro-company union before the current union’s bargaining rights were recognized must also be subject to negotiation.

Supreme Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

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The First Division of the Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Seo Kyunhwan, announced on August 4 that it had upheld the appellate court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff in the appeal trial of the collective bargaining implementation lawsuit filed by the Korean Metal Workers' Union against Samsung C&T.

Workers at Samsung C&T established the Samsung Branch of the Gyeonggi Branch of the Metal Workers' Union in July 2011 and requested collective bargaining with Samsung C&T every year from August 2011 to January 2021. However, after establishing a rival union called the "Everland Union" in June 2011, Samsung C&T entered into collective and wage agreements only with the Everland Union, ignoring the demands of the Metal Workers' Union. In response, the Metal Workers' Union filed a lawsuit against Samsung C&T in April 2020 seeking the implementation of collective bargaining.

The courts were divided in their judgments. The first trial sided with Samsung C&T, stating that "retroactively entering into agreements regarding past conditions cannot be permitted." In contrast, the appellate court ruled in favor of the Metal Workers' Union, stating, "Workers were employed even before the collective agreement was implemented, and improvements to their conditions can also be subject to negotiation." The Supreme Court also found the appellate court's decision to be correct.

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