Ⅰ. Establishment of a labor union


Article 10 (Report on Establishment of labor union)
① A person who intends to establish a labor union shall prepare a report containing the matters described in the following subparagraphs, attached with the bylaws under Article 11 and submit it to the Minister of Employment and Labor, in the event the labor union takes the form of an associated organization or is a unit labor union spanning not less than two of the following areas of Special City, Metropolitan City, Special Self-Governing City, Province and Special Self-Governing Province, to the Special City mayor, relevant Metropolitan City mayor(s) and relevant provincial governor(s); in the event the labor union is a unit labor union spanning not less than two of the following areas of Si/Gun/Gu (referring to autonomous Gu), to the relevant governor(s) of Special Self-Governing Province, mayor(s) of Special Self-Governing City and relevant head(s) of Si/Gun/Gu (referring to heads of autonomous Gu); hereinafter, the same shall apply in Article 12 (1) in the case of other labor unions:
1. Name of a labor union;
2. Location of main office/headquarters;
3. Number of union members;
4. Name and address of union officials;
5. Name of any associated organization to which it belongs;
6. In the case of a labor union in the form of an associated organization, the name of its constituent organizations, the number of union members, the address of its main office/headquarters, and the name and address of its officials.
② A labor union which is an associated organization under paragraph (1) means an industry-level organization comprised of unit labor unions in the same industry or a federation comprised of industry-level organizations or nationwide industry-level unit labor unions.

Article 11 (Bylaws)
In order to guarantee autonomous and democratic operation of the organization, a labor union shall include the following matters in its bylaws:
1. Name of a labor union;
2. Purposes and activities;
3. Location of main office/headquarters;
4. Matters relevant to union members (matters regarding its constituent organizations in the case of a labor union in the form of an associated organization);
5. Name of the associated organization to which it belongs;
6. Matters on a council of delegates if one has been established;
7. Matters concerning meetings;
8. Matters concerning representatives or officials;
9. Matters concerning accounting, including union dues and others;
10. Matters concerning modification of the union bylaws;
11. Matters concerning dissolution;
12. Matters concerning disclosure of the result of a vote on industrial action, the keeping of and access to voters’ roll and ballot papers;
13. Matters concerning removal of representatives or officials for violation of the bylaws;
14. Matters concerning election of officials and delegates; and
15. Matters concerning discipline and control.

Article 12 (Issuance of Certificate)
① The Minister of Employment and Labor, the mayor of a Special City, the mayor of a Metropolitan City, the mayor of a Special Self-Governing City, the provincial governor, the governor of a Special Self-Governing Province or the head of Si/Gun/Gu (hereinafter referred to as the “Administrative Authorities”) shall issue a certificate within three days after receiving a report on establishment under paragraph (1) of Article 10, except for cases prescribed in paragraphs (2) and (3).
② In cases where a report or bylaws need to be supplemented because of any omission or other reasons, the Administrative Authorities shall order a supplement thereof by designating a submission period up to twenty days in accordance with the Presidential Decree. Upon receiving the supplemented report or bylaws, a certificate shall be issued within 3 days.
③ The Administrative Authorities shall return a report filed in cases where any of the following subparagraphs apply to the submitting labor union:
1. Where a labor union falls within the categories of each subparagraph 4 of Article2;
2. Where supplements are not submitted within the designated period in spite of an order to supplement a report in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2).
④ With regard to the issuance of a certificate, a labor union shall be construed to have been established at the time when its report of establishment of the labor union was submitted.


Labor unions as defined in the Trade Union Act shall meet substantial and formal requirements in order to be established effectively.
Labor unions shall meet the substantial requirements, regarding subject, independence, purpose and association. Although a labor union meets these substantial requirements, any person who intends to establish a labor union in accordance with the Trade Union Act shall submit a report of establishment, together with the bylaws, to administrative agencies such as the Minister of Employment and Labor or a Special Metropolitan City mayor, a Metropolitan City mayor, and provincial governors, and then obtain certificates of report of establishment from the administrative agencies. When a labor union has received these certificates of report, it is construed as having been established at the time when the Minister of Employment and Labor received the report. Generally, although the Trade Union Act guarantees the freedom to set up labor unions, the fundamental reason that the Trade Union Act requires a report on union establishment lies in the need for the relevant authorities to protect and guide labor unions to ensure that they are organized into an effective and orderly system and operate as independent and democratic organizations.
Those who lose their eligibility for labor union membership due to a change in position can organize a labor union.
If employees lose their eligibility for existing labor union membership due to a change in position, they can establish a new labor union in cases where the part of Article 2 of the Trade Union Act, which states the status of an employer or a person representing the interest of the employer applies.
Employees that do not come under the scope of the existing union membership can establish a new labor union.
As a labor union organized in a specific business(workplace) allows union membership for 3rd grade position or lower according to its bylaws, employees with 2nd grade position or higher are clearly out of the scope of its membership. If employees with 2nd grade position or higher have not joined an industrial, regional, and/or occupational union and item(a) as described in subparagraph 4 of Article 2, and they are not ‘an employer or other persons who always act in the interest of the employer,’ they can establish a new labor union within their own scope.

Ⅱ. Admission of a labor union


Article 5 (Organization and Membership in the labor union)
Workers are free to organize a labor union or to join one, except for public servants or teachers who are subject to other enactments.


It is not justifiable to prohibit a former union member from rejoining the union.

1) To qualify for union membership, union members shall be employees stipulated under Article 2, Item 1 of the Trade Union Act, shall not fall under Article 2, Item 4(a) of the Act, which prohibits membership in the union for employees with the ‘status of an employer or a person representing the interest of the employer’, and that membership shall be determined autonomously by the labor union’s bylaws.

2) According to Article 5 of the Trade Union Act, employees shall be free to join and leave a labor union. The joining procedures shall be stipulated in the bylaws of the labor union concerned. In cases where the labor union organized with a particular company’s employees rejects membership applications or obstructs union membership by delaying procedures(e.g., requiring approval of the labor union chairman), the principle is to see them as having been recognized as fully qualified members of the union.

It is not null and void to exclude application of the collective agreement for a certain scope of employees by particularly regulating in the collective agreement those who cannot become members of the labor union.
According to Article 5 and Article 11 of the Trade Union Act, employees shall be free to establish a labor union or join one. Concretely, the scope of the labor union membership shall be specified in the labor union’s bylaws, meaning employees are free to join the labor union and obtain membership in accordance with the bylaws. However, if the labor union and the company mutually agree in the collective agreement to stipulate those who cannot become union members because they are outside the scope of the labor union’s membership, the labor union can exclude application of the collective agreement for a certain scope of employees. In this case, it is not null and void even though the provision for the scope of its membership in the collective agreement is different from that of the labor union’s bylaws.

If some union members are not eligible for union membership because the labor union allowed those who are acting in the interest of the employer to join it, the status of the labor union is forfeited only in cases where the autonomy of the labor union has been infringed or is likely to be infringed.

1) Although some union members are not eligible for membership because the labor union allowed those who are acting in the interest of the employer to join it, the status as a labor union under the Trade Union Act is not forfeited immediately, but only in cases where the autonomy of the labor has been infringed in reality or is likely to be infringed.

2) The employees cannot be treated as employers or those who are acting in the interest of the employer just because they have subordinates or have a supervisory role in relation to their work; their jobs are directly related to determining working conditions such as employment personnel, payroll, welfare, labor management, etc., but they have no authority to determine those items; and their role is only to collect and provide necessary data or submit their opinions for their superiors to make decisions.