Court: "National University Professors Are Educational Officials... Labor Standards Act Does Not Apply"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A court ruling has determined that professors at national universities, as educational public officials, are not subject to the Labor Standards Act. The court judged that the appointment or rejection of national university faculty members constitutes an administrative disposition, and therefore the employment relationship is not established through a civil or public law labor contract.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 6-2 (Presiding Judges Hong Giman, Hong Seonguk, Choi Hansun) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, as in the first trial, in a lawsuit filed by the government against the Chairman of the Central Labor Relations Commission seeking to cancel the retrial decision on unfair dismissal relief.

Mr. A was selected as the top candidate for a new professor position at B National University in February 2020. However, it was revealed that Mr. A had been involved in past research misconduct, and the personnel committee of B University ultimately rejected the appointment proposal.

Mr. A then applied for relief, and the Central Labor Relations Commission judged that "the unilateral cancellation of the hiring decision constitutes dismissal under the Labor Standards Act."

However, the government operating B University filed a lawsuit against the Central Labor Relations Commission in September 2020, arguing that the rejection of appointment for national university faculty is subject to administrative litigation and that the Commission's decision based on the Labor Standards Act is not applicable.

The court's judgment was the same. The first trial court stated, "The appointment and rejection of full-time faculty at national universities constitute administrative dispositions, and the employment relationship cannot be regarded as established through civil or public law labor contracts." The appellate court also ruled, "The refusal of new appointment in this case is an administrative disposition, and there are special provisions in individual laws such as the State Public Officials Act and the Educational Officials Act regarding the appointment of assistant professors at national universities, so the Labor Standards Act cannot be applied."