"Dismissed Employee Claims to Have Taken One More '30,000 Won Spam Chuseok Gift Set' [Seocho-dong Legal Story]"

On the 8th, ahead of the nation's biggest holiday, Chuseok, travelers are moving to board trains at Seoul Station. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Resolution Order: Dismissal
Reason : Article 59(Discipline) Paragraph 6 of the Employment Rules 'Those who remove company goods or money without justifiable reason'

- Unauthorized removal of Chuseok gifts for executives and employees

This is a story about an employee who was dismissed for taking one extra Spam Chuseok gift set worth 30,000 KRW distributed by the company and filed an 'appeal lawsuit' against the company.

Previously, Mr. A worked as a quality control manager at a defense industry company in Gyeongnam. About 1 year and 2 months after joining, before last year's Chuseok, the company allowed employees to choose their Chuseok gift sets. Mr. A applied for and received a 'fruit set'.

However, on September 15 last year, six days before Chuseok, at the end of the workday, Mr. A took one more 'Spam Chuseok gift set' that was placed in the company building lobby. The company raised this as an issue, and a month later, a personnel committee was held. Mr. A did not come to work for two days from the day he received the committee attendance notice.

The committee decided on dismissal citing "unauthorized removal of Chuseok gifts for executives and employees" as the disciplinary reason. The resolution document stated, "Despite the department head and senior staff's warnings, there was no effort to improve, unauthorized absence, theft of company property causing damage to the company and colleagues, showing no intention of rehabilitation, thus the committee unanimously decided on dismissal."

Mr. A filed a lawsuit to confirm the invalidity of the dismissal. During the trial, Mr. A's side argued that "the disciplinary action of dismissal for stealing a gift set worth only about 30,000 KRW is clearly unfair." He also claimed 10 million KRW in damages, stating that he suffered workplace harassment such as collective ostracism, insults, and defamation by other employees during his work, but the company neglected it.

On the other hand, the company countered that "the reason for dismissal is not only the unauthorized removal of the Chuseok gift." Mr. A frequently engaged in cryptocurrency and stock trading during work, spoke informally, gossiped, and instigated conflicts with colleagues, causing 'disruption of workplace order.' Despite frequent mistakes and declining job performance, he showed no willingness to improve. They argued that "given the nature of the defense industry company that values integrity and security, the disciplinary action is not unfair."

The court ruled in favor of Mr. A. According to the court on the 9th, the Masan Branch of Changwon District Court Civil Division 1 (Presiding Judge Kim Young-wook) recently ruled, "The dismissal dated November 17, 2021, by the defendant against the plaintiff is invalid," and ordered "the defendant to pay the plaintiff monthly wages calculated at 2,593,492 KRW from November 18, 2021, until the day of reinstatement."

The court stated, "(The personnel committee) did not consider workplace disorderly conduct or lack of job ability as dismissal reasons because the plaintiff did not admit them. The valid reasons for dismissal in this case are unauthorized removal of the Chuseok gift and unauthorized absence," and judged that according to the company's employment rules and regulations, Mr. A's unauthorized absence could be a disciplinary reason but not a cause for dismissal.

Furthermore, the court emphasized, "The unauthorized removed gift set is worth only about 30,000 KRW" and "Even though the defendant is a defense industry company that values integrity and security, the gift set does not appear to be an item requiring security." It also noted, "The defendant seemed to have left the gift sets in the lobby for employees to take voluntarily."

The court added, "The plaintiff even expressed willingness to return the gift set during an interview with the defendant's staff," and concluded, "The unauthorized removal of the Chuseok gift cannot be considered a reason for dismissal that socially justifies terminating the employment relationship."

However, the court dismissed the claim for damages, stating that there was insufficient evidence to recognize that the plaintiff suffered workplace harassment.