Some Kumho Tire Employees Lose Lawsuit Over Overtime Pay and Bonuses

Gwangju District Court building.

Some employees of Kumho Tire filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming they did not receive proper overtime pay and bonuses, but lost the case.

On January 8, Lee Sanghoon, the presiding judge of the 12th Civil Division of the Gwangju District Court, announced that he ruled against the 24 Kumho Tire employees, including an employee identified as A, who had filed a wage lawsuit against the company.

Employee A and others argued that, under the four-team three-shift system, they worked 42 hours a week-two hours more than the statutory working hours-but did not receive overtime pay. They also claimed that bonuses, which have the nature of deferred wages, were unfairly withheld, and each demanded payment of wages ranging from 1.6 million to 4.5 million won.

The court stated, "It is recognized that, due to the four-team three-shift system for production workers, the plaintiffs worked two hours of overtime beyond the statutory 40-hour workweek. However, since the company implemented a compensatory leave system by granting paid leave instead of wages, the plaintiffs' claims are without merit."

The court further added, "The bonus payment system changed in 2022, and it is reasonable to view that the Lunar New Year bonus for 2022 was extinguished by labor-management agreement."