Labor & Employment

“Their thorough and insightful advice is very informative and useful from a strategic standpoint,"

- Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific

Overview Key Services Practices Representative Cases Key Contacts Related Content

Overview

The Labor and Employment Practice Group prides itself on offering commercial, practical solutions to the issues that our clients face, founded on a thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses, the regulatory framework and the practices of regulatory authorities. Serving both domestic and international clients in a broad range of labor and employment issues, the Labor and Employment Practice Group has consistently received the highest recognition within both domestic and global legal markets.

Our Professionals

BKL brings together an exceptionally qualified group of labor specialists with experience from a diverse range of backgrounds, numbering Korean and foreign-qualified lawyers, former judges, certified labor consultants, and former Ministry of Employment and Labor officials.

Our Expertise

BKL has on many occasions negotiated or litigated successful outcomes in contentious cases, representing major domestic and multinational corporations. We have also accumulated rare experience in achieving successful outcomes in the Supreme Court of Korea. Our clients appreciate BKL’s practical advice and guidance on issues such as corporate workforce restructuring, drafting and reviewing compliant employment policies, collective bargaining, union disputes, regulatory investigations and safety and health violations. BKL’s high caliber of representation and advisory work is reflected in its consistent placement as one of the top labor and employment practices by major legal publications, including Chambers and Partners.

Key Services

Employee Relations

Representing clients in litigation involving wrongful termination claims, wages and in-house subcontracting matters before the Labor Relations Commission and the court.

Advising on employment contracts, implementing and changing employment policies, internal investigations, and workforce restructuring.

Advising on working hours regulations, in-house subcontracting, and wage systems, including advising on and applying the regulations regarding “ordinary wages” and “average wages” that govern the proper calculation of certain employee entitlements and severance payments.

Conducting training on workplace harassment and sexual harassment.

Representing clients in criminal cases involving violation of the Labor Standards Act or the Occupational Safety and Health Act or other labor laws.

Representing clients in response to investigations by the Ministry of Employment and Labor

Collective bargaining and labor relations

Representing clients in labor disputes including in mediation, arbitration and various aspects of litigation.

Advising clients on collective bargaining and labor disputes.

Representing clients in criminal cases for alleged unfair labor practices or collective agreement violation.

Transactional advice

Advising on the employment-related aspects of M&A transactions, including due diligence, severance and other implications of business transfers, and treatment of employees in regulated transactions such as mergers and spin-offs.

Practice Areas

Representative Cases

Presenting oral arguments before an en banc panel at the Supreme Court of Korea

Represented electronics and shipbuilding corporations in a large scale illegal worker dispatch violation suits

Represented domestic and international game industries in collective bargaining

Litigation

Presenting oral arguments before an en banc panel at the Supreme Court of Korea

Large scale ordinary wage suit on behalf of domestic automobile and heavy industry corporations

Represented electronics and shipbuilding corporations in a large scale illegal worker dispatch violation suits

Represented a cement manufacturing corporation in a worker dispatch investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Employment and Labor

Represented a domestic shipbuilding corporation in an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Employment and Labor and a criminal suit for occupational safety and health violation

Represented a foreign airline company in a workforce restructuring suit

Represented a domestic food and beverage corporation in a labor inspection by the Ministry of Employment and Labor

Advice & Guidance

Represented domestic and international game industries in collective bargaining

Represented an international distribution/e-commerce company in mediation before the Labor Relations Commission and provided guidance involving various labor disputes

Advised a multinational technology corporation on wage hours

Advised a domestic distribution/e-commerce corporation on in-house subcontractors

Represented a foreign financial enterprise in an internal investigation and labor disputes

Advised a multinational beauty and personal care corporation on workforce restructuring, including voluntary retirement

Advised a domestic manufacturing corporation on education of poor performers