Supreme Court orders recalculation of strikers' liabilities

The Supreme Court building in Seocho District, southern Seoul [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the liability of labor strike participants should be calculated on an individual basis, a landmark decision that is expected to curtail damages that can be recouped by companies from strikers in future lawsuits.

The ruling was issued in a lawsuit filed by Hyundai Motor against 29 participants in a temporary workers’ strike held at the automaker’s factory in Ulsan in November and December 2010.

Hyundai Motor originally sued all 29 defendants for 2 billion won ($1.56 million) in damages, arguing the strike at the factory forced a halt in production that lasted 278 hours.

The automaker later withdrew the lawsuit against 25 of the strikers, leaving only four defendants.

The Supreme Court’s decision partially reversed the Busan High Court’s previous ruling in the case, which had upheld a district court’s finding that the defendants owed 2 billion won in damages to Hyundai Motor.

The case now heads back to the Busan High Court for retrial, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the liability of each defendant should be calculated separately according to their level of involvement in the planning and execution of the strike.

“The degree of liability for each union member should holistically consider their status and role inside the union, level of participation in the strike and share of the losses incurred,” the Supreme Court said.

The court justified individual differentiation on the grounds that ordinary union members may not be able to easily defy the union’s decision to go on strike.

The court’s decision strengthens the hand of labor rights proponents, who argue that businesses should be restricted in their ability to seek damages in the event of losses related to workers’ strikes.

The controversy over strike-related damages first emerged in May 2009, when unionized workers at SsangYong Motor staged a strike to oppose massive layoffs forming part of a restructuring plan.

Lower courts ruling in that case ordered the Korean Metal Workers' Union to pay 3.31 billion won in damages for causing production delays at the carmaker, now known as KG Mobility.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a retrial of that case by the Seoul High Court and recommended the damages to be paid by the union should exclude the 1.88 billion won that SsangYong had paid to returning workers in December 2009.

The court said that payment was a discretionary decision by the company's management and should not be counted as part of the damages it incurred as a result of the strike.

Civic groups supporting workers’ rights made donations to SsangYong Motor workers with yellow envelopes, demanding that the government amend Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act to protect striking workers.

Last month, the Democratic Party-controlled parliamentary Environment and Labor Committee referred a contentious pro-labor bill, dubbed the “yellow envelope bill” after the SsangYong Motor ruling, to a plenary session of the National Assembly for a vote.

The bill guarantees the bargaining rights of subcontractors and limits litigation for damages against unionized workers, making it difficult for companies to take legal action against workers for participating in illegal strikes.

Business groups such as the Korean Enterprises Federation and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry have criticized the bill, arguing that the proposed amendment could make strikes and illegal practices more prevalent at industrial sites and escalate legal fights between organized labor and management.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]