Candidate Hamsanghun revealed to be... Court rules dismissal justified for bus driver embezzling 2,400 won

Han Duck-soo Nominates Candidate for Constitutional Court Justice
Controversy Over Past Ruling by Seoul High Court Chief Judge Ham Sang-hoon
"Union Also Recognized Dismissal as Justified... Decision Made After Careful Consideration"

Han Duck-soo, Acting President and Prime Minister, has nominated Ham Sang-hoon, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, as a candidate for Constitutional Court Justice. Ham's past ruling that the dismissal of a bus driver who embezzled 2,400 won in fare was justified is receiving renewed attention. On the 9th, Yonhap News reported, "In 2017, when Chief Judge Ham served as the presiding judge of the Civil Division 1 at the Gwangju High Court, he overturned the first trial ruling and dismissed the appeal filed by bus driver Lee against the company, confirming the validity of his dismissal." The appellate court at the time ruled that "the dismissal of Lee was justified."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Acting President, appointed Lee Wan-gyu, Chief of the Legislation Office (left), and Ham Sang-hoon, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, as successors to Moon Hyung-bae, Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, whose term ends in ten days, and Lee Mi-seon, Constitutional Court Justice, on the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News

In January 2014, Lee operated a bus and collected 11,600 won from each of four adult passengers but recorded in the operation log that he had collected 11,000 won per passenger, the student fare. In other words, he recorded 46,400 won as 44,000 won, failing to remit the difference of 2,400 won to the company. In April of the same year, the company dismissed Lee on the grounds of embezzling fare money. Lee, who lost his job after 17 years of service, reportedly filed a lawsuit claiming the dismissal was excessive, arguing that the fare non-payment could have been a mistake.

The first trial sided with Lee. The Jeonju District Court recognized Lee's failure to remit 2,400 won as embezzlement of transportation revenue, which was a valid reason for dismissal under the collective agreement agreed upon by labor and management. However, considering that Lee had no prior issues with fare collection during his 17 years of employment, the embezzled amount was minimal, and he had no other disciplinary records, the court judged the dismissal to be an excessive penalty.

Furthermore, compared to another driver who was suspended for embezzling 800 won three times around the same period, the court found that dismissing Lee for a single embezzlement incident violated disciplinary fairness. The court also took into account the company's insufficient measures, such as installing mechanical cash management devices on buses to allow drivers to focus solely on safe driving. The first trial court ruled the dismissal invalid, stating, "It is difficult to hold the plaintiff responsible to the extent that the employment relationship cannot continue according to social norms."

This first trial ruling was overturned in the appellate court where Chief Judge Ham presided. The second trial court stated, "It is reasonable to view Lee's failure to remit fares as intentional rather than a mistake, and even though the embezzled amount is small, it constitutes a responsible reason that makes it socially unacceptable to continue the employment relationship." The first and second trial courts thus issued completely opposite opinions on whether the embezzlement of 2,400 won was a socially acceptable reason to continue employment.

The appellate court also ruled that the decision did not violate the principle of disciplinary fairness pointed out by the first trial court. While the other driver who was suspended admitted wrongdoing and pleaded for leniency, Lee showed no remorse, even staging a one-person protest. In June 2017, the Supreme Court finalized the ruling that Lee's dismissal was justified.

On the 8th, when Chief Judge Ham was nominated alongside Lee Wan-gyu, Director of the Ministry of Government Legislation, as a candidate to succeed Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-seon, the ruling sparked reactions on social media calling it an "excessive judgment." In response, Chief Judge Ham told Yonhap News, "The company, which was struggling due to frequent embezzlement, agreed with the labor side through a collective agreement that embezzlement, regardless of the amount, would be grounds for dismissal. Even the labor union leader acknowledged during witness examination that even small embezzlement was a valid reason for dismissal, so the court made its ruling after careful consideration."

He further explained, "Although the court proposed a mediation plan recommending the company reinstate the plaintiff before the ruling, the plaintiff objected and even criticized the company outside the court, irreparably damaging the trust relationship."