Functions

1) Investigation

• If deemed necessary for performing its functions, such as verification of facts under its jurisdiction, the LRC may require workers, labor unions, employers, employers’ associations, and other relevant persons to attend and report to the LRC, make a statement, or submit necessary documents. Also, the LRC may have the LRC member or investigation officer who are designated by the chairperson of the concerned LRC or the chairperson of a sectoral committee investigate business conditions, documents, and other articles of the business or workplace. The LRC member or investigation officer who conducts an investigation should present a certificate verifying his/her authority to the related parties. An investigation officer, under the direction of the chairperson of the LRC, the chairperson of a sectoral committee, or the chief member, may conduct an investigation necessary for performing the functions of the LRC under its jurisdiction and may attend a sectoral committee to present his/her opinion. In the case of adjudication and discrimination redress, the LRC chairperson designates an investigation officer without delay after the remedy (redress) request is filed, and informs the parties concerned of how to submit a written request and answer, how to exclude and avoid a certain LRC member, and information on how adjudication or discrimination redress cases proceed including single-member adjudication and conciliation (mediation & arbitration) procedures. An investigation officer provides the other party with the remedy request and the written request that the applicant party has submitted, requires an written answer to the request and serves the applicant party a copy of the written answer without delay. When completing fact-finding, the investigation officer draws up an investigation report, which focuses on matters such as facts and arguments made by the concerned parties issue by issue in an objective and fair manner. In the case of mediation, the Mediation Committee, upon its recognition of the necessity of the investigation, may have the relevant investigation officer check detailed facts and investigate parts that are necessary for the mediation of the case.

2) Hearing

• In the case of adjudication and discrimination redress, the LRC holds a hearing within 60 days upon the receiving of the case, and after setting a date, sends to the concerned parties the hearing schedule notice which details the title of the case, the corresponding Adjudication Committee/the Discrimination Redress Committee (“AC/DRC”) which has jurisdiction over, the names of the concerned parties, and the date and place of the hearing. The notice should be sent at least seven days beforehand. However, if any concerned party that satisfies a certain conditions requests delay of the hearing or both parties request it by agreement, or if an hearing needs a significant amount of time as it involves many people, the duration of the hearing can be extended with the approval of the chairperson of the LRC or the AC/DRC. When the parties concerned are notified of the hearing date, they should submit the list of the participants before the hearing is held. The investigation officer delivers the investigation report and relevant records to the members of the AC/DRC, seven days before the actual hearing date. Although in principle the hearing should be held while both parties are present, if either party concerned fails to be present without a justifiable reason, the hearing can be proceeded in absence of the concerned party. The chairperson of the LRC, except the case of single-member adjudication, should allow one workers’ member and one employers’ member to attend the hearing. The chairperson of the AC/DRC presides over the hearing and workers’ and employers’ members participating in the hearing can ask questions to the parties concerned and the witnesses. An investigation officer, upon the instructions made by the chairperson of the AC/DRC, reports investigation results and make a statement with approval of the chairperson when it is necessary. The parties concerned need to answer the questions made by the members of the Committee in a faithful manner, and if they want to make other statements than those that are asked, they need to be approved by the Committee chairperson in advance. When the chairperson of the AC/DRC wants to close the hearing, he/she should give the concerned parties an opportunity to make a final statement. The concerned party can request a witness to back up his/her argument in a hearing, and the chairperson of the LRC determines whether to accept the request and notifies the result to the party concerned. The chairperson of the AC/DRC may designate a witness ex officio and allow him/her to attend the hearing when it is necessary. When a request for witness is accepted, the concerned party should attend the hearing with the witness and the chairperson of the AC/DRC should give examination or cross examination opportunities to the concerned party.

3) Adjudication

• The term ‘adjudication’ indicates making a legal judgement on a remedy request based on the results of investigation and the hearing. The Committee decides in favor of the complaint or the respondent, as well as determine the validity of the case. The Adjudication Committee / the Discrimination Redress Committee can adjudicate within the parameters the remedy is requested for. When the AC/DRC completes its hearing, it holds an adjudication meeting. Prior to the adjudication meeting, the chairperson of the AC/DRC should give the workers’ member and employers’ member who attended the hearing an opportunity to make a statement. When a new claim is made during the hearing that needs verification, if evidence needs to be supplemented or an additional fact-finding hearing is needed for the meeting to proceed focusing on only conciliation, the AC/DRC may re-open a hearing or an adjudication meeting. When the committee acknowledges the whole or part of a remedy (redress) request is appropriate, it mandates a remedy order, and if it finds the request inappropriate, it mandates a dismissal order. Also, the remedy request may be rejected in following cases: the application period is over; the concerned party fails to meet the committee’s request to provide supplementary information for the remedy request more than two times; the concerned party fails to satisfy a certain conditions, for example, not having the eligibility requirements or no merit of remedy (redress) is expected in the case. The investigation officer takes the minutes which record whether to open the meeting to the public, gists of opinions and discussions of workers’ member and employers’ member, resolutions, etc. The public interest members sign and seal the minutes of the resolutions and the chief member writes up an adjudication summary for the case filed. However, if a chief member is not designated or there are special reasons, another member can write up the summary. The investigation officer reports to the chairperson of the LRC the minutes with which an adjudication summary is attached. The AC/DRC needs to produce a written adjudication that records the title of the case, the complainant, the adjudication date, the text of the judicial decision, application purpose, reasons (the complainant, details of the remedy request, the argument summaries made by both parties, acknowledged facts, decision on the arguments, and conclusion), the name of the committee and details on adjudication members. The LRC sends the original copy of the written adjudication to the complainant.

4) Determination

• The LRC decides: imposing an enforcement levy in case the remedy order is not complied with, how to compose a joint bargaining delegation, how to deal with the objections raised regarding the bargaining request and the union membership in deciding the representative bargaining union, separation of bargaining units, and on which level the essential services should be maintained and operated. Those that are subject to a review of the NLRC are dispositions made by the RLRC, in other words, only adjudications and determinations of the RLRC. Recognizing exceptions to compensations for business suspension or disability and approval of granting business suspension allowance that falls short of the standard amount bring about the legal effect which is virtually the same as determination and is treated equally. Therefore, they are subject to a review of the NLRC. However, evaluation and arbitration determinations on objections such as those that are raised in recognizing industrial accidents are not legally binding and are considered as recommendations only. Therefore, these determinations are not subject to the NLRC review.

5) Recognition

• Recognition is a decision based on public authority that judges a certain question, which has been raised for a specific fact or legal relations, appropriate or inappropriate, or right or wrong. According to Article 81 of the LSA, if a worker suffers from an occupational injury or disease due to his/her own gross negligence and it is recognized by the concerned LRC, the employer may not be required to provide a compensation for suspension of work or a compensation for disability to the worker. Accordingly, the LRC decides ‘if there was any gross negligence on behalf of the worker’. The recognition of the LRC brings about the legal effect that is virtually the same as the determination mentioned above and is treated equally. Therefore, the recognition is sent to the concerned party in the form of a written determination and an employer who protests against the LRC’s recognition of the exceptions regarding business suspension compensation or disability compensation may file a review to the NLRC.

6) Approval

• The LRC gives an ex post facto approval for the notification to stop industrial actions which suspend, abrogate or obstruct the normal maintenance and operation of safety and protection facilities at workplace, or gives an approval for granting business suspension allowance that falls short of the standard amount. Like the latter, related to granting business suspension allowance according to the LSA Article 46, an approval that brings about the legal effect that is virtually the same as determination is treated equally with it and therefore, an employer who is disobedient to the non-approval order of the RLRC may file a review to the NLRC. However, the former, according to Article 42 of TULRAA, is just approving with authoritative power the notification of an administrative agency to stop industrial actions, not setting up new legal relations, therefore, is not subject to a review request.

7) Resolution

• The LRC makes resolutions for the cases requested by an administrative agency in relation to the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), union constitution and labor union operation. Administrative agencies must request the LRC’s resolution on the cases which necessitate an LRC’s resolution according to TULRAA, and must observe the resolution made by the LRC. The Adjudication Committee, to which a request for the resolution is brought, is composed of 3 public interest members in charge of adjudication who are nominated by the chairperson of the LRC, and should hold a hearing in principle. However, when a labor union or employers who have a stake wants to be present in the hearing, the LRC may give them an opportunity to make a statement as a person for reference. The LRC’s resolution on the cases that are requested for a LRC’s resolution is not an administrative disposition according to Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the LRCA, but only an internal decision process that an administrative agency needs to go through for a disposition. Therefore, a review on the resolutions made by an RLRC cannot be requested. However, regarding the disposition taken by an administrative agency according to the resolution of the LRC, administrative appeals or administrative lawsuits can be filed against the agency. The resolutions made by the LRC are such as: request for designation of the person who has the authority to convene a labor union convention, request for revision of the union constitution, request for correction of labor union resolutions and dispositions, request for dissolution of a labor union, request for the revision of CBA, request for deciding the extent of regional binding force of CBA, and request for in-advance determination regarding the notification to stop industrial actions suspending, abrogating or obstructing the normal maintenance and operation of the facilities installed to protect the safety at workplaces.

8) Conciliation

• Until an adjudication, order or decision is handed down concerning a request to redress the violation of the duty of fair representation or request for remedy concerning unfair labor practices or unfair dismissal, the LRC may recommend conciliation ex officio on the request by the concerned parties or present a conciliation proposal after taking the opinions of both parties sufficiently. The Adjudication Committee or a single adjudication member should make a conciliation proposal after sufficiently reviewing conciliation conditions of the concerned parties, and should explain the purpose and content to both of them sufficiently. When deemed necessary, the Adjudication Committee or single adjudication member can hold a separate meeting for conciliation. When the concerned parties accept the conciliation proposal, a conciliation statement should be made which the concerned parties and all committee members involved in the conciliation process should write their signature or press their seal on it. The conciliation statement has an effect equivalent to judicial conciliation according to the Civil Procedure Act (“CPA”). Once the conciliation is established, the parties concerned cannot reverse it. The chairperson of the LRC should serve the original copy of the conciliation statement to the concerned parties by certified mail within five days after the conciliation is established, and issue the conciliation statement delivery certificate upon the request of it by either concerned party.

9) Mediation and arbitration in discrimination redress

• TheThe Discrimination Redress Committee (“DRC”) can start mediation procedures on request by both parties concerned or either party, in which case, the concerned party should submit an application for mediation. Mediation application should be made within 14 days after discrimination redress is applied for. However, it can be made after 14 days with the permission of the LRC. The DRC may recommend or begin mediation ex officio when it finds in the process of investigation that mediation is appropriate for the resolution of the case. The DRC makes a mediation proposal after reviewing the mediation application or the arguments of both sides sufficiently, and should explain the purpose and content in full to both parties. The DRC should make a mediation proposal within 60 days after the mediation process has begun, unless there are other reasons. When both parties accept the proposal, the DRC writes a mediation statement, which is signed and sealed by both parties concerned and all members involved in the mediation. The DRC may start arbitration procedures when both parties in agreement apply for arbitration of the LRC in advance. In this case, both parties should submit an application for arbitration. The arbitration application should be made within 14 days after discrimination redress is applied for. However, it can be made after 14 days with the permission of the LRC. The DRC should award an arbitration adjudication within 60 days after the arbitration is applied for, unless there are other reasons. However, if both parties concerned resolve their disputes by themselves before the adjudication is made, then the DRC may not need to award it. In this case, both parties need to submit evidence that can support their dispute resolution. The DRC, when it awards an arbitration adjudication, should make an arbitration statement, which should be signed and sealed by all members involved in the arbitration. In the case of mediation, the chairperson of the LRC should notify the concerned parties the mediation statement in certified mail within five days after the mediation is established. In the case of arbitration, the LRC chairperson should serve the original copy of the arbitration adjudication without delay, also by certified mail. When the concerned party who has received a mediation statement or a written arbitration adjudication applies for the certificate of serving the result of the resolution, the chairperson of the LRC should issue it.

10) Adjustment

• The LRC, by resolving labor disputes in a rapid and fair manner, has an adjustment function in order to prevent the losses of both parties in labor relations due to industrial actions and contribute to enhancing the stability of the national economy and its development. Adjustment is a procedure to seek a dispute resolution in which a third party adjusts the disputes of both parties concerned. Labor dispute adjustment encompasses mediation, which is a kind of a service; arbitration, which imposes a duty for implementation of the decision made to the parties concerned; and emergency adjustment, which is carried out quite exceptionally when there is a risk that can harm the national economy or the ordinary lives of the Korean people.

11) Litigation

• The LRC also has functions of reviewing or adjudicating objections raised to the industrial accident recognition decision, which is only a recommendation, and accusing those who do not comply with awarded remedy order according to the LSA Article 112.

12) Others

• The LRCA Article 27 stipulates that an administrative litigation can be filed against measures taken by the NLRC. A lawsuit regarding any disposition taken by the NLRC should be instituted against the chairperson of the NLRC within 15 days from the date the notification of the disposition is served. The NLRC has the Judicial Support Division to deal with administrative lawsuits filed against the NLRC.