A court has ruled that while it is permissible to pay employees who join a company after completing mandatory military service more by recognizing their military service, they must not be given favorable treatment in promotions.
On Feb. 11, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled to overturn the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)'s decision to dismiss a petition filed by a person identified as A against the National Human Rights Commission, in a suit seeking to cancel the dismissal of the petition.
A applied for an open recruitment at non-profit corporation B and was hired as a full-time employee. Under its internal rules, non-profit corporation B assigns step 10 of grade 6 to four-year college graduates and, if military service is two years, adds two steps, recognizing them as step 12 of grade 5.
A filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Oct. 2024, arguing that these internal rules constitute discrimination based on sex prohibited by the Act on Equal Employment for Both Sexes. However, the NHRC dismissed the petition, saying, "Setting different initial pay steps for new employees depending on whether they are discharged veterans is not reasonably seen as discriminatory treatment that disadvantages women without a legitimate reason."
A filed an administrative lawsuit in objection. A argued that even when performing the same labor, new employees such as women without military service experience face a two-year delay in promotion to grade 4 and an annual pay gap of about 14 million won, so non-profit corporation B's personnel system unlawfully discriminates against female workers.
The bench found that the claim that "annual pay differs by 14 million won depending on military service" does not constitute unjust discrimination under the Act on Support for Veterans. Article 16(3) of the Act on Support for Veterans provides that "when determining the pay step or wages of a hired discharged veteran, the employment support agency may include the service period in work experience."
However, the bench found that a rule allowing faster promotion by reflecting military service in pay steps could violate the Act on Equal Employment for Both Sexes. The Act on Support for Veterans only provides that military service may be included in work experience; it does not provide that it may be reflected in promotions.
Non-profit corporation B revised its personnel management rules in Dec. 2024, after A filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Under the new rules, the initial pay step for discharged veterans is two steps higher than that of ordinary college graduates, but appointment promotions are the same at grade 5.