17,984 Labor Disputes Last Year... 97% Resolved by Labor Commissions

Court Upholds 88.9% of Central Labor Relations Commission Rulings in Retrials
Most Labor Disputes Resolved Before Reaching Court
Commission's Decisions Processed Much Faster Than Court Proceedings

The Central Labor Relations Commission announced on the 28th that approximately 97% of the 17,984 labor disputes handled by labor commissions last year were resolved before proceeding to court litigation.

Of the 17,984 employment and labor disputes handled by local labor commissions last year, 86.5% were concluded at the local commission level. An additional 10.3% were resolved at the Central Labor Relations Commission. The remaining 3.2% proceeded to court litigation.

As of last month, the rate at which court retrials upheld the Central Labor Relations Commission's rulings stood at 88.9%. This means that out of every three cases brought to court, the Commission's decision was overturned in only 0.3 cases. The retrial upholding rate has risen annually, from 83.9% in 2021 to 87.5% last year.

Last year, the average time to process a case at the local commission’s initial hearing was 47 days, and 130 days up to the Central Labor Relations Commission’s retrial. In comparison, the first instance in court took 462 days, and the third instance took 1,092 days. This means that last year, the initial hearing at the local commission was about ten times faster than the first instance in court.

The Central Labor Relations Commission explained that these results were due to most citizens who use the commission’s relief procedures accepting its decisions. Kim Taegi, chairperson of the Central Labor Relations Commission, stated, "We will do our best to enhance fairness and expertise."