Quarantine deployment of 'unfair dismissal reinstatement' - claims exclusion of work, and KPGA "temporary measures due to space constraints" is controversial

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA), which reinstated an employee who was unfairly fired, is at the center of another controversy this time.

The KPGA labor union claimed on the 7th, "We reinstated three employees who were judged to be 'unfairly fired' by the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Relations Commission, but in fact, we conducted retaliatory quarantine arrangements with only formal reinstatement."

The union said, "It has been confirmed that two out of three employees have been virtually quarantined in a separate space on the second floor of the same building, not in a normal office on the ninth floor of the KPGA building."

The union emphasized, "The reinstatement is not just a formal measure to get to work, but only when normal workplaces and work environments are guaranteed together, it can be seen as a practical restoration according to the purpose of the Gyeonggi Jinro Commission's decision," adding, "To place quarantine in a separate space like now is no different from not returning to work, and it is highly likely to be treated with additional disadvantages and secondary harm."

In addition, he explained that the remaining one person was not assigned normal work and was in a state of exclusion.

KPGA's unfair dismissal resulted from bullying at work by former high-ranking executive A, who was a player. The three employees stated the damage or testified in connection with the situation and were unfairly dismissed. The Gyeonggi Gino Committee ruled that the dismissal of the three men was unfair on January 2, and the KPGA reinstated them in time for the deadline for the reinstatement order (March 9).

In December 2024, A committed bullying at work, including verbal abuse threatening his or her personal life, personal attacks mentioning his or her family, forcing a memorandum, pressing him or her to leave the union, and was sentenced to eight months in prison in the first trial of the criminal trial in December last year.

The KPGA delayed disciplinary action against A, but rather disciplined a number of affected employees, raising controversy. In September last year, the union filed an application for relief from unfair layoffs with the Gyeonggi Provincial Labor Commission, and the Gyeonggi Gino Committee judged that all laid-off workers were unfairly dismissed.

The union said, "For smooth tour preparations and the development of the association ahead of the opening of the season, we proposed to conclude the matter through a separate written agreement on the premise of 'substantial reinstatement' without re-disciplinary or retaliatory measures in the future, but as the president of the association refused, both labor and management are finally undergoing a retrial process with the National Labor Relations Commission."

In response, the KPGA refuted the claim through a press release. "Currently, the KPGA 9th floor office is very small due to the existing manpower arrangement, and physical conditions are not in place to accommodate all three reinstated workers on the same floor," he said. "As a result, one out of three people has a seat in the existing office on the 9th floor, and the other two have a temporary office on the second floor of the same building."

"We make it clear that this is an inevitable temporary measure due to realistic space constraints and is not intended for quarantine or retaliation," he added. "We would like to inform you that we are also considering securing office space through future office remodeling."

Regarding the suspicion of 'work exclusion', the association provides normal work instructions to those who are reinstated, contrary to some claims of 'work exclusion'. He said, "We have even instructed our employees to do specific tasks such as daily tasks to securing naming partners," adding, "However, with all departments already divided into tasks due to pre-season preparations, some reinstated workers are carefully considering optimal work arrangements."

The KPGA plans to set the stage for official discussions at a board meeting scheduled in mid-April regarding the work arrangement of reinstated workers. KPGA said, "Through the board of directors, we will come up with concrete measures to create a normal work environment for those who are reinstated," adding, "The association will continue to carry out related procedures transparently and reasonably."

Some said, "I refused to negotiate with the representative because of the international work and external activities of the president of the association," but KPGA said, "The association has continued to negotiate with the union while legally delegating the authority to represent the negotiation to the (former) secretary-general and the team leader in charge in accordance with labor-related laws." The union has also been conducting working-level negotiations by delegating it to the vice chairman, not the chairman, to attend the negotiations," he said.

Ahead of the negotiations, the union sent an official letter saying, "Unlike the usual vice-chairman, the chairman will attend in person this time, so Chairman Kim Won-seop should attend in person." "In response, the association immediately consulted with the labor attorney in charge, and the labor attorney presented a professional opinion that "the president of the association is not legally obligated to attend even if the union requests it." According to such legal advice, the association said that the negotiation representative (the secretary general and the team leader in charge) who was delegated as before attended the negotiations normally and proceeded with the procedure.

"I refused to negotiate" is not true. The KPGA emphasized, "We have not refused or avoided the negotiations themselves, and we have faithfully engaged in negotiations in accordance with the process of delegating representatives of negotiations under the labor-related laws," adding, "We clearly state that this was a legitimate procedure based on legal grounds, not a avoidance of negotiations based on personal schedules or external activities."

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*This content was translated by AI.