The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 11 reported on the 10th that it ruled against accessory distribution company A in a lawsuit seeking the cancellation of a decision by the Central Labor Relations Commission (CLRC), which stated that A had unfairly dismissed an employee last December. Since A did not appeal the ruling, it has been finalized.
B, who worked for A, sent a message to the company representative through social media (SNS) on March 2023, indicating that they were experiencing workplace harassment. Subsequently, B also photographed and sent an unsigned resignation letter.
In response, the company representative said, "I will handle this step by step, so please take a little break. I will contact you through Director C." Afterward, B communicated with Director C and other employees for work, and internally, it was mentioned that B would not resign and would return to work.
However, a few days later, Director C abruptly informed B, "Due to difficulties in separating the perpetrator, it has become hard to work here," and notified them of their dismissal. During this process, the Labor Standards Act regulation that "an employer must notify the employee in writing of the reasons for dismissal and the timing of the dismissal" was not adhered to.
B applied for remedy to the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission (Seoul RLC), claiming unfair dismissal. Both the Seoul RLC and the CLRC concluded that the dismissal was unfair, prompting A to file an administrative lawsuit. A argued that "having received and accepted B's resignation letter, the employment contract between A and B has ended by mutual agreement."
The court stated, "B's act of submitting a resignation letter did not signify an intent to terminate the employment contract but rather a declaration of intent to resign if no action was taken regarding the workplace harassment." It continued, "Afterward, B appears to have retracted their resignation upon hearing from the representative that actions would be taken against the workplace harassment." The court added, "An employee can freely withdraw their intention to resign until the employer's acceptance, as established by the submission of a resignation letter, definitively concludes the employment contract." Furthermore, the court ruled that A violated the Labor Standards Act during the dismissal process.