Supreme Court: 'Labor-Management Council Must Hold Regular Meetings Even Without Specific Agenda'

[Financial News] The Supreme Court has ruled that failure to hold regular labor-management council meetings every three months can be punished, even if there is no specific agenda.
According to the legal community on the 27th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Judge Oh Kyung-mi) upheld the original ruling that sentenced Mr. A to a fine of 500,000 won for violating the Act on the Promotion of Workers' Participation and Cooperation.
Mr. A, who was a representative of a local media company, was prosecuted for failing to hold regular meetings five times while serving as the chair of the labor-management council from December 2019 to December 2022.
The Workers' Participation Act stipulates that the council must hold regular meetings every three months and may hold special meetings as needed.
Mr. A claimed that he was unaware of the requirement to hold regular labor-management council meetings and that he had no intent, as the schedule was reported by the staff whenever there were current issues.
However, both the first and second trials did not accept Mr. A's claim and sentenced him to a fine of 500,000 won.
The second trial court ruled, "It is difficult to see that there was no intent or blameworthiness in the defendant's failure to hold the labor-management council five times."
△ It was specified in the labor-management council operation regulations that 'the regular meeting of the council is held in the second week of the following month of each quarter' △ Mr. A attended the labor-management council several times after taking the chair, which served as the basis for determining that Mr. A was aware of the need to hold the labor-management council quarterly.
Mr. A appealed, but the Supreme Court's judgment was the same.
The Supreme Court stated, "The labor-management council must hold regular meetings every three months according to the Workers' Participation Act, regardless of whether there are specific agenda items related to consultation or resolution," and "It is reasonable to see that the employer must faithfully report or explain matters related to overall management plans and performance, quarterly production plans and performance, personnel plans, and the company's economic and financial situation at the regular meetings."

jisseo@fnnews.com Minji Seo Reporter