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[Recent Court Case 4] The industrial union leader’s unauthorized entry to business premises should be deemed a justifiable activity to improve the working conditions.

2020.07.29

[Case No. Supreme Court Decision 2017Do2478 dated Jul. 29, 2020] 
 
In this case, the court held that the industrial union leader’s entry to the business premises of an affiliated company without the company’s permission for the purpose of collecting evidence of the company’s violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act is a valid activity to maintain or improve the working conditions and therefore recognized as necessary and cannot be deemed a breach of the company’s right to facilities management. 
 
The defendants (the “Defendants”) are the leaders of the metal workers’ union. The Defendants were charged with unauthorized entry to a plant (the “Plant”) of a company (the “Company”). The Korean Prosecution Service stated that “according to the collective agreement between the labor union and the company, the union members who may access to the company site during a lawful strike shall be the employees only” and that “the Defendants’ entry to the Plant without the Company’s permission constitutes a trespass.” 
 
The Supreme Court, however, upheld the decisions of the court of first instance and the appellate court which found the Defendants not guilty. The Supreme Court reasoned that the Defendants’ acts were recognized in terms of the need of the union activity for maintaining or improving the working conditions without infringement of the material aspects of the Company’s right to facilities management considering the following: (i) the Defendants entered the Plant for the purpose of collecting evidence concerning the Company’s violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and there were precedents of the leaders of the metal workers’ union visiting the Plant for the same purpose and inspecting the site without complaints from the management; (ii) the Defendants simply looked at the facilities and equipment without operating them and spent only 30 to 40 minutes; and (iii) the Defendants neither attacked, threatened, nor used any type of physical force, nor interfered with or disturbed the work of the employees in the course of the inspection.

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