Team Leader Travels Abroad Without Approval Despite Being a Parliamentary Audit Witness... Court Rules Suspension Justified

[Financial News] The court has ruled that receiving a suspension for proceeding with an unauthorized overseas business trip, even after being selected as a witness for a parliamentary audit, is not an unfair measure.
According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul Administrative Court’s 13th Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Jin Hyun-seop) ruled against Mr. A, a team leader at the Korea Press Foundation, in a lawsuit filed against the National Labor Relations Commission seeking to overturn a decision on an unfair disciplinary action.
At the time, Pyo Wansu, then chairman of the foundation, and Mr. Jeong, then head of the Information and Advertising Headquarters, were selected as witnesses for the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly’s audit on September 25, 2023. Their scheduled appearance was on October 17.
A few days before the audit, Mr. A submitted a request to former Chairman Pyo to attend the 'Advertising Technology (AdTech)' event in Japan from October 17 to 20, but the request was rejected. The day before the audit, Mr. A instructed a subordinate manager to submit the travel order again, but it was rejected once more. Even when Mr. A submitted the order directly, it was not approved.
Nevertheless, Mr. A proceeded with the unauthorized overseas trip along with former Head Jeong and two managers. As a result, former Head Jeong was unable to attend the National Assembly committee session. The committee discussed possible prosecution and disciplinary action against former Head Jeong and others, which was reported by the media.
Ultimately, the foundation imposed a one-month suspension on Mr. A in June of the following year, citing that he planned, led, and executed an unauthorized overseas trip. Mr. A filed a relief request with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission, but both the regional and national commissions dismissed his claim.
Mr. A also filed an administrative lawsuit to overturn the National Labor Relations Commission’s decision, but this was also denied. He argued that the disciplinary action was excessive, noting that the managers who accompanied him were not disciplined.
The court stated, 'This is an act that undermines organizational and work discipline.' It added, 'The foundation faced significant criticism from the National Assembly due to the unauthorized trip, and its reputation suffered as the incident was widely reported in the media.' The court further noted, 'Considering that the plaintiff actively led the overseas trip as the person in charge, and that the head of the Government Advertising Headquarters resigned shortly after, the disciplinary action cannot be deemed disproportionate.'
theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter