For foreigners working in South Korea, fully grasping the nuances of the country's labor laws can be a challenge. Furthermore, faced with unfair dismissal or disciplinary actions, many may find the process of claiming their rights daunting and, at times, even feel compelled to give up. In the following sections, we aim to guide you through the procedures to effectively address such situations.

 

Q1. Can an employee be terminated on the same day?
A1. In South Korea, an employer must provide a 30-day notice prior to termination. If unable to do so, must pay an amount equivalent to 30 days' wages as a dismissal notice compensation. Therefore, if you've been notified of termination in less than 30 days, you should request this dismissal notice compensation.

 

 

Q2. What if I didn't receive the termination notice compensation?
A2. You can file a petition with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. If it's difficult to proceed on your own, you can delegate this task to a CPLA(Certified Public Labor Attorney).

 

 

Q3. What constitutes unfair dismissal or unfair disciplinary action?
A3. According to the Labor Standards Act in Korea, "An employer cannot dismiss, suspend, transfer, reduce wages, or take other disciplinary actions against an employee without a justifiable reason." Therefore, to terminate or discipline an employee, an employer must have a valid reason. Moreover, it's the employer's responsibility to prove the validity of such reasons.

 

 

Q4. I've been unjustly terminated. What actions can I take?
A4. You can file a remedy request with the Labor Relations Commission("LRC"). This application must be filed within 3 months from the date of dismissal or disciplinary action.

 

 

Q5. What is the process of applying for relief with the Labor Relations Commission(LRC)?
A5. The procedures are as follows:

(1) The employee must file a remedy request regarding unfair dismissal etc. within 3 months of the incident. The local LRC will make a ruling.
(2) If either party (employer or employee) disagrees with the ruling, they can request a review(re-evaluation) by the National Labor Relations Commission("NLRC") within 10 days of receiving the ruling.
(3) If a party disagrees with the review result, they can file an administrative lawsuit within 15 days.
(4) Following that, the administrative court, high court, and supreme court will adjudicate following their respective procedures.

 

 

Q6. If you dispute the fairness of an unfair dismissal or disciplinary action by filing a relief application with the Labor Relations Commission, what is the order of proceedings?
A6. The process is as follows:

(1) (Employee) Files relief application for unfair dismissal etc.
(2) (Employee) Submits a complainant's statement.
(3) (Employer) Submits a respondent's statement.
(4) (LRC) Requests additional documents (if necessary).
(5) A hearing session is convened.
(6) Notification of the ruling results.

 

 

Q7. How does the hearing session proceed?
A7. Typically, the hearing session is scheduled by the LRC about 50 days after the remedy request is filed. The session includes three commissioners (one public interest commissioner, one employer commissioner, one employee commissioner), the investigating officer, and the parties involved (employee/employer). The session lasts about an hour and involves each commissioner questioning the parties regarding the case.

The LRC also values mediation through reconciliation between the parties. If both parties are open to reconciliation, time is often allocated for reconciliation after the session, and sometimes, a reconciliation period of about a week is granted.

 

 For any questions, please contact us using 'CONTACT US' section at the bottom of our webpage or click on the image below to send an email directly to mihyun.kim@saerolabor.com.