Having the Same Director Doesn’t Mean a Single Workplace... Court Rules They Are Separate Entities

[Financial News] The court has ruled that even if the same director operates multiple institutes, they cannot be considered a single workplace if they have separate business registrations and no direct connection.
On the 7th, the legal community reported that the Seoul Administrative Court’s 12th Administrative Division, presided over by Judge Kang Jae-won, ruled against Mr. A, an instructor who filed a lawsuit to overturn the National Labor Relations Commission’s decision to dismiss his unfair dismissal relief appeal.
Mr. A worked as a part-time instructor at an Institute of Supplementary Education in Seoul in December 2023. However, in February of the following year, he was notified of his dismissal due to a complaint from a parent.
Mr. A applied for relief from unfair dismissal with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission, but his application was dismissed because the institute had fewer than five employees. The National Labor Relations Commission also dismissed his appeal for the same reason.
Under the current Labor Standards Act, most regulations, including the prohibition of unfair dismissal, do not apply to workplaces with fewer than five employees.
Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit, arguing that another institute operated by the same director, located 25 minutes away, should be considered as part of the same workplace. However, the court rejected this claim.
Mr. A asserted that the two institutes were about 1.5 kilometers apart and followed the same employment rules, but the court disagreed.
The court cited the fact that the two institutes had separate business registrations, were in different locations, did not have identical staff, and had no personnel exchanges between them.
The panel stated, "It is insufficient to recognize the two institutes as a single workplace based on only a few facts, and there is no other evidence to support this." Therefore, the application for unfair dismissal relief does not apply.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter