"Stop Coming Out Now" 'KakaoTalk Dismissal' on the Way to Work... You Can Receive One Month's Salary

If Not Notified 30 Days Before Dismissal
Severance Pay Must Be Provided
'KakaoTalk Dismissal' Is Also Not Allowed... 'Written Notice' Is the Principle

A story has emerged about an announcer who was suddenly fired via a KakaoTalk message by the company while working at a sports broadcasting channel. The principle is that a dismissal notice should be given 30 days in advance, and the notification should be delivered in writing, stating the reasons for dismissal.

Choo Ji-yoon, who runs the YouTube channel 'Jiyoon Diary,' recently confessed on her channel that she was abruptly notified of her dismissal. Choo said, "I was happily working every day and was putting on makeup to go to work when I received a KakaoTalk message saying, 'You don't have to come starting the day after tomorrow,'" and added, "My life completely changed after receiving the dismissal notice in just one line of KakaoTalk."

There are two issues with this kind of dismissal notice. First, according to Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act, dismissal must be notified at least 30 days in advance. If the dismissal is not notified 30 days prior, the employer is required to pay the employee the ordinary wages for 30 days or more. Employers who fail to pay the dismissal notice allowance face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

However, employees who have worked for less than three months are excluded from the dismissal notice allowance. Also, cases such as ▲natural disasters or other unavoidable reasons making it impossible to continue the business, and ▲cases where the employee intentionally causes significant disruption to the business or property damage as defined by the Ministry of Employment and Labor are also exempt from receiving the dismissal notice allowance.

According to these principles, part-time workers who have worked for more than three months are also entitled to the dismissal notice allowance. If they are dismissed without 30 days' notice and do not receive the dismissal notice allowance, they can file a complaint with the local labor office that has jurisdiction over the workplace to seek relief.

Additionally, dismissal notices via text messages or messengers like KakaoTalk are inappropriate methods. Article 27 of the Labor Standards Act states that in workplaces with five or more regular employees, the employer must notify the employee of the dismissal reasons and timing in writing, and the dismissal is only effective if notified in writing. Therefore, if the dismissal notice was received via text or messenger, it is invalid, and the employee can apply for relief from unfair dismissal.

Are Freelance Announcers Also Employees? ... Increasing Precedents Recognizing 'Employee Status'

Even workers under freelance contracts like Choo can receive dismissal notice allowances if their employee status is recognized. The law judges based on substance rather than the form of the contract; if the worker performed work under a subordinate relationship for wages in a business or workplace, they are considered employees.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Pixabay

In January, the Supreme Court recognized the employee status of a dismissed freelance announcer at a broadcasting company and ordered reinstatement. Former announcer Lee Eun-joo joined a local KBS broadcasting station in 2015 as a freelance weathercaster and worked as a weathercaster or hosted TV and radio news until July 2019. At that time, Lee was dispatched to KBS Gangneung Broadcasting Station, KBS Chuncheon Broadcasting Headquarters, and other regional stations due to broadcasting station circumstances. The contract specified the contract period as "from December 2018 until personnel replenishment or program reorganization."

Later, after hiring new personnel, the regional broadcasting station notified Lee of contract expiration and excluded her from work starting July 7, 2019. In response, Lee filed a lawsuit against KBS to confirm her employee status. She lost in the first trial, but the second trial court recognized her employee status. KBS appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of Lee.

The second trial court found that Lee performed the same duties as regular announcers under significant direction and supervision from the broadcasting station, and since KBS renewed the contract and employed her for over two years, she was considered an employee under the "Act on the Protection of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees" with an indefinite-term employment contract.

The court stated, "Considering that she performed many tasks that non-employees would not, such as hosting in-house events, did not appear on broadcasts other than KBS-produced programs, had working hours set according to KBS's schedule, and shared schedules with regular announcers, it is reasonable to view her as effectively exclusive to KBS."