Seosan Branch of the Ministry of Labor, search and seizure of automobile manufacturer on suspicion of unfair labor practices (comprehensive)

Labor authorities discovered that an automobile manufacturer in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province had unfairly intervened in labor union activities and began a mandatory investigation.

The Seosan Branch Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced in a press release on the 9th that about 20 labor inspectors were deployed from around 9 a.m. on the same day to search and seize the main contractor company A, an automobile manufacturer located in Seosan, and three subcontractors.

This follows the confirmation of some allegations of unfair labor practices in which the management dominated and intervened in union activities, such as forcing union withdrawal, during the regular labor inspection process last June.

Previously, the Metal Workers' Union filed a related complaint with the Seosan Branch Office in January of this year, and held a press conference in front of the Seosan Branch Office in June, urging special labor supervision for Company A.

At a press conference at the time, the Metal Workers' Union claimed, "When subcontracted workers joined the Metal Workers' Union en masse early this year ahead of the implementation of the Revised Trade Union Act (Yellow Envelope Act), management managers forced them not to join the union through individual meetings," adding, "They put pressure on workers by contacting their families and threatened to put them at a disadvantage in terms of process arrangements."

The Seosan Branch Office explained that it would quickly investigate allegations of unfair labor practices by securing relevant data through search and seizure.

Kim Gyeong-min, head of the Seosan branch, said, “We will thoroughly analyze the evidence obtained from the search and seizure to thoroughly investigate the facts, and if any violations of the law are confirmed, we will take strict action.”