The Supreme Court decision that has recognized the industrial accidents of Samsung Electronics' workers was chosen as the best stepping stone court decision of the year. The Busan High Court decision that has imposed the damage compensation of 2 billion won(US$ 1.8 million) upon the subcontracted workers of Hyundai Motor was chosen as the worst stumbling block court decision of the year.
The MINBYUN-lawyers for a Democratic Society held a gathering on 'Human Rights Report in Korea' on December 4 and made public the results of its evaluation on the court decisions of the various levels of court including the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court to select ten stepping stone decisions and ten stumbling block decisions each during the period from December 1 last year until November 14 this year.
The MINBYUN-lawyers for a Democratic Society has chosen the decision of the Supreme Court on August 29 that had recognized the claims of Samsung Electronics LCD plant workers diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as the industrial accidents. The first and second trials rejected the claim, citing the difficulty in recognizing the causal relationship between duties of the plaintiff and multiple sclerosis. The decisions of lower courts were also affected by the information that the numerical measurements of harmful chemicals were within the permissible exposure limit and the epidemiological survey result that concluded little link between work and disease. However, the Supreme Court overturned the court rulings. The Supreme Court pointed out the limitation of the epidemiological survey and placed responsibilities on Samsung Electronics which refused the information on used chemical material data and the government as well. This decision is interpreted as the shift of responsibility from workers to the company and government to prove the causal relationship between work and disease. The case was returned to the Seoul High Court. The MINBYUN-lawyers for a Democratic Society explained the rationale behind selection that "it is the first case that the court has recognized a vocational disease of a Samsung Electronics LCD plant as the industrial accident."
Another decision on November 14 that the Supreme Court had recognized a worker who contracted brain tumor while working at a Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant and died as the victim of industrial accident was also chosen as one of the stepping stone court decisions. Even though brain tumor is the second most illness following leukemia contracted by workers in the semiconductor and LCD factories, it is the first time that brain tumor was recognized as the industrial accident by the Supreme Court.
The court ruling on August 24 that the Busan High Court had decided the damage compensation of 2 billion won(US$ 1.8 million) against four workers who supported the strike led by Hyundai Motor's irregular workers union in 2010 that called on Hyundai Motor to convert illegally used dispatched workers to regular workers. On July 22, 2010, the Supreme Court made a verdict in favor of Choi Byung-seung, an in-house subcontracted worker in a Hyundai Motor plant,who filed a lawsuit complaining that Hyundai Motor used dispatched workers illegally. Following the Supreme Court decision, the Hyundai Motor Irregular Workers Union demanded a special negotiation with Hyundai Motor for the conversion of irregular workers to the permanent status. As Hyundai Motor rejected the union's demand, the union went on strikes for 25 days from November 15 to December 9, the company filed a lawsuit for the damage compensation amounting to 22 billion won(US$ 20.3 million) for the production loss caused by the strikes. The court finally made a ruling that workers pay 2 billion won(US$ 1.8 million) to Hyundai Motor
Another court decision in January this year that the Gwangju High Court has justified the dismissal of a bus driver who did not return the passengers' bus fare of 2,400 won(US$ 2.20) to the company was also chosen as one of the stumbling block court decisions.
The 'Human Rights Report in Korea' in the labor sector contains the abolition of two government guidelines and the performance-based pay system, the rise of minimum wage(16%), court decision on illegal worker dispatching and the direct employment, conversion of irregular workers to permanent positions, and 911 at work. The MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society raised the necessity to improve the collective labor relations, to limit the damage compensation claims and provisional seizures against trade unions, and basic labor rights for the workers in special types of employment.
reported by Yon Yun-jung
translated by Kim Sung-jin