[Unofficial Korean-English translation provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Court acknowledges remote freelance workers as laborers for the first time", 22 November 2022

Transcosmos Korea obtained the contract to monitor 'Nate Pan,' an online community operated by SK Communications, in March 2016 and hired freelance contract workers as monitoring agents, including Mx. A. [...] Although the work was remote, Mx. A clocked in and out at designated times six days a week and worked according to the work category designated by the company. However, since Mx. A was a freelance contractor on paper, they were registered as self-employed and did not get employment insurance. Mx. A has renewed their contract every 6~7 month for eight times in total, but the company suddenly dismissed Mx. A through verbal notice in August 2020. Mr. A told Hankyoreh on the 22nd, "I worked under constant supervision and monitoring. When I made a mistake, the mistake was uploaded on a public notice board, and I apologized publicly. I worked hard for the company for around five years and was dismissed without a reason." The court gave a ruling that remote-working freelancers such as Mx. A are laborers as defined in the Labor Standards Act. It was confirmed on the 22nd that the 12th administrative division of the Seoul Administrative Court had ruled against transcosmos Korea in the lawsuit it filed against the National Labor Relations Commission on the 17th to cancel the retrial of the wrongful dismissal remedy suit. In June 2021, the National Labor Relations Commission stated that this case was a wrongful dismissal case since Mx. A and others are laborers, notifying them of the contract termination is equivalent to a dismissal, and the company did not fulfill lawful dismissal procedures, such as failing to provide written notice, [...].