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ACT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION,ETC.,OF TRADE UNIONS FOR TEACHERS

This translation of Korea's labor laws is intended mainly as

a convenience to the non-Korean-reading public. If any questions arise related to the accuracy of the information contained in the translation, please refer to the official Korean version of the laws. Any discrepancies or differences created in the translation are not binding and have no legal effect for compliance or enforcement purposes.

* This Act reflects only the amendments made until October

31, 2011

ACT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION, ETC., OF TRADE UNIONS FOR TEACHERS

Act No. 5727, Jan. 29, 1999

Articl e 1 (Purpose)
The purpose of this Act is to stipulate matters concerning the organization of trade unions for teachers pursuant to the
proviso to Article 5 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations
Adjustment Act and to prescribe special provisions on the Trade
Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act to be applied to teachers, notwithstanding Article 66 (1) of the State Public Officials Act and Article 55 of the Private School Act.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Article 2 (Definition)
The term "teacher" in this Act refers to a person prescribed in Article 19 (1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act : Provided that any dismissed persons who have requested a
remedy for unfair labor practices to the Labor Relations
Commission under the Article 82 (1) of the Trade Union and
Labor Relations Adjustment Act shall be regarded as teachers until a review decision is made by the National Labor Relations
Commission under Article 2 of the Labor Relations Commission
Act (hereinafter referred to as "National Labor Relations
Commission).
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 3 (Prohi b iti on of Poli tical Activiti es)
Trade unions for teachers (hereinafter referred to as "trade unions") shall not be allowed to participate in any political activities.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 4 (Estab l ishment of T rade Uni ons)
(1) Teachers may establish a trade union at the special city, metropolitan city, province or special self-governing province
(hereinafter referred to as "cities or provinces") level or at the national level.
(2) A person who intends to establish a trade union shall submit an union establishment report to the Minister of
Employment and Labor. <Amendedby Act No. 10339, Jun. 4, 2010>
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 5 (Status of Full-time Officials of Trade Unions)
(1) A teacher may be solely engaged in trade union affairs with the approval of the appointer.
(2) A teacher who is solely engaged in trade union affairs (hereinafter referred to as "full-time official") with the approval of the appointer under paragraph (1) shall be considered to obtain an order to take leave of absence under Article 44 of the Public Educational Official Act and Article 59 of the Private School Act.
(3) A full-time official shall not be entitled to wages during the period of service as a full-time official.
(4) A full-time official shall not be subject to any disadvantages in promotion or in other matters related to personal status on grounds of his/her position as a full-time official during the period of service as a full-time official.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 6 (Authori ty, etc., to B argai n and Conclude Col lective
Agreements)
(1) The representative of a trade union shall have the authority to bargain and conclude a collective agreement with regard to the improvement of the economic and social status of teachers, such as wages, working conditions and welfare, etc., with the Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the superintendent of the city and provincial office of education, or the person who establishes and runs the private school. In the case of private schools, the persons who establish and run such
schools shall participate in negotiations at the national level or at the city or provincial level.
(2) In the case of paragraph (1), the negotiating group of the trade union shall consist of the representative and members of the trade union concerned.
(3) If there are two trade unions or more with the same persons as their members, the trade unions shall establish a single bargaining channel to demand collective bargaining.
(4) If the parties concerned conduct collective bargaining or conclude a collective agreement under paragraph (1), they shall negotiate in g o o d fa ith , ta k in g in to c o n sid e r a tio n th e o p in io n o f th e public and parents, and shall not abuse their authority.
(5) Necessary matters concerning procedures, etc., for collective bargaining under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by the Presidential Decree.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 7 (Ef f ect of Coll ecti ve Agreements)
(1) In c o lle c tiv e a g re e m e n ts c o n c lu d e d in accordance with A rticle 6 (1), provisions regulated by A cts and subordinate statutes, bylaws or budgets and provisions regulated by the authority delegated under laws or bylaws shall not have the effect of collective agreements.
(2) The Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the superintendents of city and provincial offices of education, and those who establish and run private schools shall make efforts in good faith to ensure the implementation of provisions which do not have the effect of collective agreements pursuant to paragraph (1).
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 8 (Prohi b iti on of I ndustri al Acti on)
A trade union and its m em bers shall be prohibited from taking any industrial action, including strikes, work slowdowns or other activities hindering normal business operation.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 9 (R eq uest etc., f or M edi ati on of Lab or D isputes)
(1) If collective bargaining prescribed in Article 6 breaks
down, either or both of the parties concerned may make a request for mediation to the National Labor Relations Commission.
(2) If either or both of the parties request mediation pursuant to paragraph (1), the National Labor Relations Commission shall commence mediation without delay, and the parties concerned shall participate in the mediation in good faith.
(3) Mediation shall be completed within 30 days after the date of receiving the request pursuant to paragraph (1).
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 10 (Commencement of Arb i trati on)
The National Labor Relations Commission shall conduct arbitration in any of the following subparagraphs; <Amended by Act No. 10339, Jun. 4, 2010>
1. Where both parties concerned request arbitration after collective bargaining under Article 6 breaks down;
2. Where the mediation proposal presented by the National Labor Relations Commission is rejected by one of the parties; and
3. W here the C hairperson of the National Labor Relations Com m ission decides to refer the case to arbitration by virtue of his/her authority or at the request of the Minister of Employment and Labor.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Article 11 (Composition of Lab or R elations Adj ustment Committee f or T eachers)
(1) The Labor Relations Adjustment Committee for Teachers (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") shall be established under the National Labor Relations Commission to mediate and arbitrate the labor disputes of teachers.
(2) The Committee shall be composed of three public interest members in charge of medication, designated by the Chairperson of the National Labor Relations Commission : Provided that a person who is not a public interest member in charge of mediation in the National Labor Relations Commission is recommended by the parties concerned under agreement, that person shall be designated.
(3) The Chairperson of the Committee shall be elected mutually from among its members.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 12 (Conf irmati on, etc., of Arb i trati on Award)
(1) If an arbitration award rendered by the National Labor Relations Commission is deemed against laws or beyond its authority, the relevant party may file an administrative suit against the Chairperson of the National Labor Relations Commission within 15 days from the date of receiving the arbitration award, notwithstanding Article 20 of the Administrative Litigation Act.
(2) If no administrative suit has been filed within the period prescribed in paragraph (1), the arbitration award shall be confirmed.
(3) If the arbitration award is confirmed pursuant to paragraph (2), the parties concerned shall comply therewith.
(4) The effect of an arbitration award rendered by the National Labor Relations Commission shall not be suspended by the filing of an administrative suit under paragraph (1).
(5) The arbitration award confirmed under paragraph (2) shall have the same effect as collective agreements.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 13 (R el ati ons with R eq uest f or Examinati on of T eachers' Appeal )
If a teacher or trade union makes a request for remedy to th e L a b o r R e la tio n s C om m issio n un de r Article 82 (1) of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act as the relevant teacher has been dism issed or given disadvantageous treatment on grounds of committing an act specified in subparagraphs 1 and 5 of Article 81 of the same Act, no request for the examination of an appeal shall be made to the Appeal Examination Commission for Teachers, notwithstanding Article 9 of the Special Act on the Improvement of Teachers' Status. <This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 14 (R el ati ons with O ther Laws)
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), matters not prescribed in this Act concerning trade unions and labor relations adjustment for teachers shall be governed by the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. In this case,
"collective bargaining or industrial action" in Article 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act shall be read as "collective bargaining", "collective bargaining, industrial action" in Article 4 of the same Act as "collective bargaining", "to the Minister of Employment and Labor, in case the trade union takes the form of an associated organization or is a unit trade union spanning not less than two areas out of the special city, metropolitan cities, provinces and special self-governing provinces; to the special city mayor, relevant metropolitan city mayors and relevant provincial governors, in case the trade union is a unit trade union spanning not less than two areas out of Sis/Guns/Gus (referring to autonomous Gus); and to relevant governors of special self-governing provinces and relevant heads of Sis/Guns/Gus (referring to heads of autonomous Gus; hereinafter the same shall apply in Article 12 (1)) in the case of other trade unions" in parts other than each subparagraph of Article 10 (1) of the same Act as "to the Minister of Employment and Labor", "Minister of Employment and Labor or the mayor of special city, the mayor of metropolitan city, the provincial governor, the governor of special self-governing province or the head of Si, Gun, Gu (hereinafter referred to as "the administrative authorities")" in Article 12 (1) of the same Act as "Minister of Employment and Labor", "either the Mediation Committee or the single mediator" in Articles 58, 60 (1) through (4) and 61 (3) of the same Act as "Labor Relations Adjustment Committee for Teachers", "either the Chairman of the Mediation Committee or the single mediator" in Article 59 of the same Act as "the Chairman of the Labor Relations Adjustment Committee for Teachers", "all members of the Mediation Committee or the single mediator" in Article 61 (1) of the same Act as "all members of the Labor Relations Adjustment Committee for Teachers", "Arbitration Committee" in Articles 66 (1), 67 and 68 (2) of the same Act as "Labor Relations Adjustment Committee for Teachers", "representative of a trade union or a person authorized by a trade union" in subparagraph 3 of Article 81 of the same Act as "representative of a trade union", "Article 44 (2), Article 69 (4), Article 77 or Article 81" in Article 90 of the same Act as "Article 81", "Articles 88 through 93" in Article 94 of the same Act as "subparagraph 2 of Article 89, Article 90, Article 92 and Article 93", and "worker", "employer" and "administrative authorities" in the same Act as "teacher", "Minister of Education, Science, and Technology, the
superintendent of a city and provincial office of education, a person who establishes and runs a private school, or a person who deals with matters related to teachers on b eh alf of th e M in ister of Ed uc atio n, S cien ce a nd Tec hn ology, the superintendent of a city and provincial office of education, or a person who establishes and runs a private school" and "Minister of Employment and Labor" respectively.
<Amendedby Act No. 10339, Jun. 4, 2010>
(2) The proviso to item D of subparagraph 4 of Article 2, Article 24, Article 24-2, Article 29 (2) through (4), Articles 29-2 through 29-5, Articles 36 through 39, Article 41, Article 42, Articles 42-2 through 42-6, Articles 43 through 46, Articles 51 through 57, Article 60 (5), Articles 62 through 65, Article 66 (2), Articles 69 through 73, Articles 76 through 80, the proviso to subparagraph 2 of Article 81, Article 88, subparagraph 1 of Article 89, Article 91 and Article 96 (1) 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act shall not apply to trade unions under this Act.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>
Articl e 15 (Penal Provisi ons)
(1) A person who takes industrial action in violation of Article 8 shall be punished by imprisonment of up to five years or by a fine not exceeding fifty million won.
(2) A person who fails to comply with an arbitration award in violation of Article 12 (3) shall be punished by imprisonment of up to two years or by a fine not exceeding twenty million won.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 10132, Mar. 17,
2010>

Addenda<Act No. 8852, Feb. 29, 2008; Revision of the

Government Organization Act>

Articl e 1 (Enf orcement D ate) This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation : Provided that …<omitted>… among the laws revised pursuant to Article 6 of the Addenda, those which were promulgated before this Act enters into force but whose enforcement date has not yet arrived shall enter into force on their respective enforcement dates.
Articl es 2 through 5 Omitted.
Articl e 6 (R evisi on of O ther Laws)
(1) through (531) Omitted.
(532) Parts of the Act on the Establishment, Operation, etc., of Trade Unions for Teachers shall be revised as follows :
"The Minister of Education and Human Resources Development" in Article 6 (1), Article 7 (2) and Article 14 (1) shall be changed to "The Minister of Education, Science and Technology".
(533) through (760) Omitted.
Articl e 7 Omitted.

Addendum <Act No. 10132, Mar. 17, 2010>

This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.

Addenda<Act No. 10339, Jun. 4, 2010>

Articl e 1 (Enf orcement D ate)
This Act shall enter into force one month after its promulgation. <Proviso omitted>
Articl es 2 through 3 Omitted.
Articl e 4 (R evisi on of O ther Acts)
(1) through (20) Omitted.
(21) Parts of the Act on the Establishment, Operation, etc., of Trade Unions for Teachers shall be revised as follows :
"Minister of Labor" in Article 4 (2), subparagraph 3 of Article
10, the latter part of Article 14 (1) shall be changed to "Minister of Employment and Labor".
(22) through (82) Omitted.
Articl e 5 Omitted.