The Supreme Court ruled that Hyundai Motor must directly hire workers from partner companies who drove test vehicles at the Namyang Research and Development Center. This is the first time the Supreme Court has recognized the illegal dispatch of test-vehicle drivers.
The Supreme Court's No. 2 Petty Bench, with Supreme Court Justice Eom Sang-pil presiding, said on the 27th that it affirmed the appellate ruling in favor of a worker identified as A and 15 others in a lawsuit to confirm employee status that they filed against Hyundai Motor over the Namyang Research and Development Center. It has been eight years since A and others filed suit.
A and others directly drove test vehicles at the Namyang Research and Development Center to check durability. A and others drove the vehicles themselves at the Namyang center, wrote any unusual findings in a log, and submitted it to the Head of Team. The Head of Team then submitted a test-vehicle status document to Hyundai Motor.
Both the first and second trials sided with the partner-company workers, including A. The courts found that Hyundai Motor specifically directed the workers' job details, such as workload, methods, order, and location, and therefore must directly hire them.
The appellate court also said, "A and others, in the course of new vehicle development and research at the research institute, reported problems identified while operating prototype vehicles to the defendant's researchers from time to time to verify the suitability of technologies and parts." It added, "The partner company did not投入 its own capital or specialized technology into the durability driving test work."
The Supreme Court also found the appellate ruling to be correct.