I received a notice of dismissal on the grounds that the number of students at the private institute I worked at had decreased and the institute was in a difficult financial situation. It is true that the number of students is lower than before, but my number of classes remain the same, and it is likely that many new students will enroll after the beginning of the semester. Also, even though the private institute gave me a notice of dismissal for financial reasons, they soon hired new instructors. I cannot understand why I was dismissed. In this case, can this dismissal be disputed as unfair?

If the institute has at least 5 ordinarily employed workers, in accordance with Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act, to justify dismissal for managerial reasons, there must be urgent managerial necessity and the employer has to have made every effort to avoid dismissal and followed reasonable and fair criteria in the selection of persons subject to dismissal.
If one of these requirements is not met, it is an unfair dismissal. In addition, whether the dismissal is objectively reasonable and socially justifiable will be determined, taking into consideration the circumstances such as whether or not the employer has undergone sincere consultations with the labor union or the worker(s) involved.
Urgent managerial necessity can be assessed not only for imminent situations to avoid bankruptcy but also to avoid crises that may arise in the future. However, if many students enrolled at the beginning of the semester, and if it is near a new semester, this can be a factor that can negate the urgent managerial necessity. Other factors such as net profit, recent management performance, current status of loans, and reasons for business deterioration should be reviewed in detail.
The institute should make efforts to avoid dismissals, such as ensuring reasonable management policy and working methods, using temporary leaves and allowing for voluntary terminations of employment, and disposing of assets. Other circumstances also need to be considered, but the fact that the institute hired a new instructor shortly after the dismissal can show that the employer did not make any reasonable efforts to avoid dismissal.
Finally, there were other instructors and if the explanation of why one instructor was chosen over another for managerial dismissal was insufficient or nonexistent, and if, ultimately, only the employer’s situation was considered and not the worker’s, it would be hard going to see the dismissal as occurring according to a reasonable and fair standard.