Labor data show only 9.5% of unfair dismissal claims were recognized
Version 2: A second business outlet, Asia Economy, added the number of claims recognized, the Labor Standards Act reason that workplaces with fewer than five employees fall outside the dismissal rules, and the period covered by the dismissal emails; the central figures were unchanged.
In short
Labor Commission data show that 9.5% of the 82,617 unfair dismissal cases filed between January 2023 and July 31 this year were recognized as unfair dismissals, Yonhap and Asia Economy reported. Of 1,700 cases rejected without a hearing, 919 (54.1%) were turned away because the workplace had fewer than five employees. Asia Economy reported that the Labor Standards Act's ban on dismissal without just cause applies only to workplaces with five or more regular employees, and that the figures came from data obtained by the advocacy group Workplace Gapjil 119 through the office of Justice Party lawmaker Jung Hye-kyung.
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Fewer than one in ten unfair dismissal cases filed with the National Labor Relations Commission were recognized as unfair dismissals, according to commission data obtained by the advocacy group Workplace Gapjil 119 through the office of Justice Party lawmaker Jung Hye-kyung. Yonhap and Asia Economy reported that 82,617 cases were filed between January 1, 2023 and July 31 this year, and that 9.5 percent were recognized. Asia Economy put the number recognized at 6,509. [ 2 , 3 ]
Of the 68,309 cases processed, 34.1 percent ended in a ruling, 31.6 percent were settled and 34.2 percent were withdrawn, the outlets reported. Among 1,700 cases rejected without a review of the merits, 919 — 54.1 percent — were turned away because the workplace had fewer than five employees. Asia Economy reported that under the Labor Standards Act the prohibition on dismissing a worker without just cause applies only to workplaces with five or more regular employees, so workers at smaller businesses face limits on seeking relief through the commission even when they say they were dismissed unfairly. [ 2 , 3 ]
Yonhap and Asia Economy also reported an analysis of 207 dismissal-related emails sent to Workplace Gapjil 119. It said 115 of them, or 55.6 percent, involved an employer forcing a resignation or inducing a worker to leave, and that 74 of those (35.7 percent) involved pressure to quit through verbal abuse, personal attacks, ostracism or exclusion from work. Other categories were dismissal notified verbally or immediately without written notice (38 cases), dismissals that fell outside legal protection because of a small workplace or disputed employee status (30), and retaliation against workers who had filed reports or complaints (28). Asia Economy said the emails were received between January last year and June this year. [ 2 , 3 ]
Workplace Gapjil 119 said it published a “Ten Commandments of Dismissal” report on October 1 with support from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The report proposes nine institutional improvements, including redefining the concept of a worker and introducing a principle that a person is presumed to be an employee, preventing abuse of fixed-term contracts, and making the succession of employment mandatory. It also sets out core points for workers who are notified of a dismissal without warning. [ 2 , 3 ]
Park Eun-ha, a labor consultant at Workplace Gapjil 119, said a worker who writes a resignation letter after being pressured to quit is not changing jobs by free choice, but leaving through a roundabout dismissal that lets the employer avoid the responsibility and disadvantage of a dismissal. She called for dismissal and the loss of employment insurance status to be judged by the substantive cause of the job change, and for employers to be required to prove that a resignation was voluntary and that a contract ended for a legitimate reason. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The figures indicate that most workers who file unfair dismissal claims do not win recognition, and that employees at workplaces with fewer than five people are frequently shut out of a merits review entirely. Asia Economy's account of the five-employee threshold points to a legal limit rather than case-by-case outcomes as a reason for that gap. The documents record no response from the Labor Commission, the government or employers to the data or to the advocacy group's reform proposals.
Key facts
- Between January 1, 2023 and July 31 this year, 82,617 unfair dismissal cases were filed with the Labor Commission, and 9.5% were recognized as unfair dismissals. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Asia Economy put the number of recognized cases at 6,509. [ 3 ]
- Of 68,309 processed cases, 34.1% ended in a ruling, 31.6% in settlement and 34.2% were withdrawn. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Of 1,700 cases rejected without a merits review, 919 (54.1%) were rejected because the workplace had fewer than five employees. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Asia Economy reported that the Labor Standards Act rule barring dismissal without just cause applies only to workplaces with five or more regular employees, limiting relief for workers at smaller businesses. [ 3 ]
- Of 207 dismissal-related emails sent to Workplace Gapjil 119, 115 (55.6%) involved forced resignation or an employer inducing a departure, and 74 of those (35.7%) involved pressure to quit through verbal abuse, personal attacks, ostracism or exclusion from work. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Other categories were dismissal notified verbally or immediately without written notice (38), dismissals outside legal protection (30), and retaliation for reporting or complaints (28). [ 2 , 3 ]
- Workplace Gapjil 119 published a “Ten Commandments of Dismissal” report on October 1 with support from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, proposing nine institutional reforms. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Labor Commission data obtained by Workplace Gapjil 119 through lawmaker Jung Hye-kyung's office show that 9.5% of the 82,617 unfair dismissal cases filed from January 1, 2023 to July 31 this year were recognized as unfair dismissals. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Just over half of the cases rejected without a merits review — 919 of 1,700, or 54.1% — involved workplaces with fewer than five employees. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Of the 68,309 processed cases, 34.1% ended in a ruling, 31.6% in settlement and 34.2% were withdrawn. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- What Newsis's article reported about the Labor Commission data The article text under Newsis's headline is about President Lee Jae-myung's remarks on reform and does not mention the Labor Commission data, so the outlet's full coverage of the figures could not be read.
- What happened to the cases filed but not counted as processed Yonhap and Asia Economy report outcomes for 68,309 processed cases out of 82,617 filed; the documents do not say what happened to the remainder.
- The period covered by the 207 dismissal-related emails Only Asia Economy states that the emails were received between January last year and June this year; Yonhap gives the same categories and counts without a collection period.
- Any response from the Labor Commission, the government or employers to the data and the report The documents contain no comment from the commission, government or employer side.