The Supreme Court ruled that an agreement by a taxi company requiring its affiliated drivers to bear fuel costs (fuel expenses) is invalid as it violates current law, even if both parties had mutually agreed to it.
According to the legal community on the 26th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seonsu) finalized on the 27th of last month the appellate court's ruling in favor of taxi driver A, who filed a wage claim lawsuit against the company.
The court stated, "Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Taxi Development Act, which prohibits the transfer of transportation costs by taxi operators, is a mandatory provision," and judged that "an agreement between the operator and workers for workers to bear fuel costs is invalid."
It further added, "An illegal act such as an agreement with the labor union, where the operator ostensibly agrees to bear fuel costs but in substance shifts the burden to workers by raising the daily quota to evade bearing fuel expenses, is also invalid."
The taxi drivers at the company where A worked had been bearing fuel costs individually from their transportation income according to wage agreements made with the company. This practice continued through agreements between the company and drivers even after Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Taxi Development Act was enforced in the region in October 2017.
In 2019, A filed a lawsuit against the company claiming wages equivalent to the fuel costs he had borne. The company argued that it was against the principle of good faith and sincerity and denied any payment obligation, but both the first and second trials accepted A's claim and ordered the company to pay approximately 10 million won. The Supreme Court also upheld this appellate court decision as correct.
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