"Basic Salary Was 3.3 Million Won, Right?" Chinese Restaurant Delivery Worker Demands '100 Million Won Annual Salary' After Starting Work

Demanding 6.59 Million KRW Monthly Including Base Salary and Allowances After Starting Work
Lawsuit Filed Exploiting Difference Between 'Salary' and 'Base Salary'
Court Rules "No Distinction Between Delivery Workers' Base Salary and Allowances"

A delivery worker at a Chinese restaurant filed a lawsuit demanding a salary close to 100 million KRW annually by exploiting the difference between 'salary' and 'base pay,' but lost the case.

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Photo by Moon Honam

According to the legal community on the 31st of last month, delivery worker A filed a lawsuit against the restaurant owner couple, claiming unfair dismissal and demanding confirmation of dismissal invalidity and wage payment. However, the Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the restaurant owner couple.

Previously, in September 2020, the restaurant owner couple posted a recruitment notice for delivery workers. The notice stated conditions such as "salary of 3.3 million KRW or more, employment period of over one year, six days of work per week, fixed delivery daily wage of 140,000 KRW."

After seeing this, A sent a message to the owner asking, "Is it possible to work as a regular delivery employee, working hours from 09:00 to 21:00, six days a week, one weekday off per week, 2 to 3 meals provided daily, with a monthly base salary of 3.3 million KRW?" He changed 'salary' to 'base salary' in the message, and the owner replied, "Yes, that's correct."

Later, on the fourth day of A's attendance, the owner tried to prepare an employment contract, but A refused to sign it, claiming that he should receive 6.59 million KRW per month including various allowances on top of the base salary of 3.3 million KRW, and stopped coming to work. The salary of 6.59 million KRW, including the four major social insurance premiums, amounts to an annual salary of about 100 million KRW.

Eventually, the restaurant owner notified A of dismissal due to his absence and officially dismissed him a month later. A filed a claim for relief from unfair dismissal with the local labor committee, but it was dismissed.

Then, A filed a civil lawsuit citing the owner's confirmation that the base salary was 3.3 million KRW. He demanded that the dismissal be declared invalid and that he be paid 6.59 million KRW monthly.

However, A lost both the first trial and the appeal. The court pointed out, "The job advertisement clearly states the worker's salary as '3.3 million KRW per month,' and it is common practice for delivery workers to negotiate and work based on the total amount of wages without distinguishing between base pay and allowances."

Furthermore, the court ruled that it is difficult to conclude that the term 'base salary' should be interpreted solely as 'base pay' under the Labor Standards Act, and considering that other employees at the restaurant also receive a monthly salary of 3.3 million KRW, it is unlikely that the owner intended to pay a base salary of 3.3 million KRW excluding allowances.