법무법인(유한) 율촌 | Yulchon LLC

Yulchon successfully represented Seoul Metro in high-stakes litigation brought by more than 1,500 shift workers who sought additional wages on the basis that the company’s holiday substitution system allegedly violated Article 55(2) of the Korean Labor Standards Act. The court rendered a complete victory in favor of Seoul Metro.

The dispute concerned a holiday substitution system that had been implemented pursuant to a written agreement with the labor union, acting as the employees’ representative body. The plaintiffs argued that the system improperly substituted one “holiday” for another “holiday,” rather than substituting a “holiday” with a “working day,” and was therefore invalid under Korean labor law.

Yulchon successfully demonstrated that: (ⅰ) the plaintiffs’ interpretation was inconsistent with the plain language of the collective bargaining agreement; (ⅱ) the actual operation of the work schedule did not support the plaintiffs’ claims; (ⅲ) the holiday substitution system had been lawfully introduced in compliance with the Korean Labor Standards Act and expressly incorporated into the collective bargaining agreement; (ⅳ) the plaintiffs in fact received more holidays than ordinary employees; and (ⅴ) the labor union had never raised objections to the system.

This matter was particularly significant given the scale of the claims and the substantial financial exposure faced by the client, as well as the potential risk of follow-on litigation by other employees had an adverse ruling been issued. Through strategic advocacy and comprehensive analysis of both the collective bargaining framework and the practical operation of the scheduling system, Yulchon secured a decisive and precedent-setting outcome for the client.