I was contacted by a new client that was advised by their former Korean legal counsel that they were not required to have employment rules for their operations in Korea. In most cases, an employer that employs ten or more workers must have rules of employment, and the rules must be filed with the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor. One of the most significant risks facing companies doing business in Korea is related to Korean Labor & Employment Law. Please obtain a proactive and experienced lawyer
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Survey on Labor Law Violations
In July of 2010, a survey was published by Jungbu Employment and Labor office. The office conducted a survery on 207 companies in Incheon that hired foreigners (non-Koreans), minors and the handicap. I assume they combined the three groups, since they are perceived as the most abused individuals by employers. The report concluded that: 1. 196 of the 207 employers violated labor law (94.7%);2. 83 breached a labor law clause requiring a written employment agreement (40%);3. 66 breached a clause of the labor law requiring employees to
Continue readingBack to Park Chun-Hee
Korea Times September 18, 2009 by Sean C. Hayes (Host of this blog) This past week, Korea and my practice group lost a large multinational company to Hong Kong. The client, who first hired a business consultant to conduct research on where to establish a regional headquarters, chose Hong Kong primarily based on the Index of Economic Freedom and its mention of Korea’s: “burdensome labor regulations” and “non-transparent rule making and law formulation; exclusionary social, political and business structures; and insufficient institutional checks and balances.” Other negative
Continue readingDismissal of Workers for Operational Emergency Declared Invalid under Korea Labor Standards Act.
Incheon District Court (2007 KaHap 4420) recently ruled that the dismissal of 5 workers for an “operational emergency” is in violation of the Labor Standards Act, since “In order for an employer to dismiss a worker due to operational reasons, there should be and emergency in operations. But defendant has maintained profit since 2000 and only had a loss in 2006.” The Court also noted that employer did not have debt and was sufficiently solvent. The employer was ordered to pay the defendant for wages “which they
Continue readingNo American Law Firms in Korea – YET
The KOR-EU FTA passed and thus British law firms will be able to setup shop in Korea over a five-year three-stage phase-in period. All of the leading British firms have begun building relationships with an eye to formal partnerships. KOR-US FTA, however, has stalled because of opposition of some prominent lawmakers in the liberal parties even though the two FTAs are very similar in scope. The following article is an interesting article on the intention of an American law firm in the Korean market and shows that local firms
Continue readingCorporate Downsizing the Korean Way
Corporate Downsizing the Korean Way Appeared in the Korea Times on May 18, 2007 Lex Pro Bono Column Dear Professor Sean Hayes, I am working for a company that has notified us that they will layoff around 25 workers. I heard that under the Korean Labor Law an employer cannot dismiss employees without just cause. Is this true and what can I do to protect my job? Worried in Yeouido. Dear Worried, the Korean Labor Law provides some protection from dismissal by employers, but provides little protection
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