Workbear재주넘는곰
대법원 2006도9478

Obstruction of Business (업무방해) and Violation of the Act on the Punishment of Violence, etc. (Joint Destruction of Property) (폭력행위등처벌에관한법률위반(공동재물손괴등))업무방해·폭력행위등처벌에관한법률위반(공동재물손괴등)

Decided2007. 05. 11. Court대법원Employer won
AI-generated English translation (summary, key points, decision summary and full text) for reference only — not an official translation and without legal effect. The Korean original below is authoritative.
AI Easy read — AI summary of this decision
AI-generated summary for reference only — the Korean original below is authoritative.

Members of a railway workers' union occupied the office of a business division head and destroyed property to protest the outsourcing of a new business project. The Korean Supreme Court held that a labor dispute (쟁의행위) aimed solely at opposing the employer's restructuring decision itself lacks legitimate purpose and therefore cannot be recognized as a lawful industrial action. The Court also found that the obstruction of business and the joint destruction of property constituted separate, concurrent offenses (실체적 경합범) because they involved different victims and different conduct.

Key takeaways
  • CaseRailway union members occupied a company office and damaged property to protest the outsourcing of a new business unit.
  • OutcomeThe Supreme Court ruled the strike illegitimate because it targeted the restructuring decision itself, a matter outside the scope of collective bargaining, and treated the obstruction and property damage as separate crimes.
  • LessonUnions should focus industrial action on negotiable working conditions rather than opposing management's core business decisions, as the latter falls outside the legal protection for legitimate strikes.
Issues
  • Requirements for recognizing the legitimacy of a labor dispute (쟁의행위)
  • Whether a strike aimed at opposing corporate restructuring itself can be considered a legitimate industrial action
  • The relationship between obstruction of business and joint destruction of property in terms of criminal concurrence (죄수관계)
Key reasoning

Under Korean labor law, decisions on whether to implement corporate restructuring fall within the employer's high-level managerial discretion and, in principle, are not subject to collective bargaining. Consequently, a strike or occupation whose real objective is to block the restructuring decision itself does not meet the legitimacy requirement for industrial action, since it does not concern working conditions but rather management prerogative. Because the union's action here was aimed at preventing the outsourcing decision itself rather than negotiating its effects on employment terms, the Court ruled it lacked a legitimate purpose. Separately, the Court analyzed the obstruction of business and property destruction charges independently, finding that since they involved different victims and different types of conduct, they should be treated as concurrent crimes (실체적 경합범) rather than a single combined offense.

Full text (English, AI translation) 6,324 chars

[Defendant]

[Appellant] Defendants
[Defense Counsel] Attorney Kwon Du-seop and 3 others
[Judgment Below] Seoul Central District Court Judgment 2006No2688, decided November 30, 2006

[Order]

All appeals are dismissed.

[Reasoning]

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. It is clear from the record that the Defendants appealed against the first-instance guilty judgment solely on the ground of unfair sentencing (量刑不當). Therefore, misapprehension of facts due to violation of the rules of evidence, etc., cannot be raised as a ground of appeal against the judgment below, which upheld the first-instance judgment as is.

2. Furthermore, upon examination:

In order for a worker's industrial action to constitute a legitimate act (正當行爲) under the Criminal Act (형법), the following conditions must all be satisfied: first, the subject must be one who can be a party to collective bargaining; second, the purpose must be to foster autonomous bargaining between labor and management for the improvement of working conditions; third, the action must be commenced only after the employer has refused collective bargaining regarding specific demands for improvement of working conditions, and, absent special circumstances, must go through procedures prescribed by statute, such as approval by a vote of union members; and fourth, the means and methods must be in harmony with the employer's property rights and must not amount to the exercise of violence (see Supreme Court Decision 97Do588, decided January 20, 1998; Supreme Court en banc Decision 99Do4837, decided October 25, 2001, etc.).

Whether to implement corporate restructuring, such as layoffs for managerial reasons, consolidation or abolition of business organizations, or privatization of public enterprises, is a matter belonging to the high-level managerial decision of the management entity, and, in principle, cannot be a subject of collective bargaining. Absent special circumstances—such as where such restructuring is pursued for an improper purpose without urgent managerial necessity or reasonable grounds—if a trade union engages in industrial action substantially to oppose the implementation itself, then even if changes in workers' status or working conditions inevitably accompany such implementation, the industrial action cannot be recognized as having a legitimate purpose (see Supreme Court Decision 99Do5380, decided February 26, 2002).

Where the purposes pursued in an industrial action are multiple and some of them are illegitimate, the legitimacy of the purpose of the industrial action must be determined based on the propriety of the primary or genuine purpose, and where it is found that the industrial action would not have been carried out if the unjust demands had been excluded, the entire industrial action must be deemed to lack legitimacy (see Supreme Court Decision 2000Do2871, decided June 26, 2001; Supreme Court Decision 2002Do5881, decided February 28, 2003, etc.). According to the record, the members of the Korean Railway Workers' Union, including the Defendants, aimed at withdrawal of the Korea Railroad Corporation's plan to outsource new business operations. Therefore, absent special circumstances, the purpose of the Defendants' conduct was not legitimate, and their conduct cannot be deemed to constitute a legitimate industrial action.

The judgment below, which reached the same conclusion, is justified, and there is no illegality therein, such as violation of the rules of evidence or misapprehension of legal principles, as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

3. Meanwhile, in a joint principal offense (共同正犯) where two or more persons jointly participate in and commit a crime, the conspiracy or agreement need not necessarily be made directly and explicitly; it may also be formed sequentially or implicitly through mutual understanding. In any case, however, there must be a combination of intentions to jointly participate in and realize the crime together. Where a defendant denies both the point of conspiracy and criminal intent, such subjective elements can only be proven, by the nature of the matter, through proof of indirect facts or circumstantial facts that are substantially related to the criminal intent. In such cases, what constitutes an indirect fact with substantial relevance must be determined by reasonably assessing the connection of facts based on normal empirical rules and through meticulous observation and analysis (see Supreme Court Decision 2002Do6103, decided January 24, 2003; Supreme Court Decision 2005Do8645, decided February 23, 2006, etc.). Examining the record in light of the above legal principles and the evidence adopted in the first-instance judgment, which the judgment below upheld, the lower court's determination recognizing Defendant 2's intent to jointly participate in the joint destruction of property as stated in the judgment is justified and acceptable, and there is no illegality therein, such as misapprehension of facts due to violation of the rules of evidence or misapprehension of legal principles, as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

4. Furthermore, upon examination of the record, although the joint destruction of property as stated in the judgment was committed in the course of, and as part of the disturbance involved in, the obstruction of business as stated in the judgment, the two offenses not only involve different victims, but the obstruction of business as stated in the judgment was committed, in addition to the joint destruction of property as stated in the judgment, through the exercise of force by collectively occupying the office of the business division head of the Korea Railroad Corporation for an extended period of time and chanting slogans, etc.—thus differing in the mode of conduct. Accordingly, the two offenses are in a relationship of substantive concurrence (實體的 競合犯). The judgment below, which reached the same conclusion, is justified, and there is no illegality therein, such as misapprehension of legal principles concerning the number of crimes.

5. Therefore, all appeals are dismissed, and this judgment is rendered as stated in the Order by the unanimous opinion of the participating Justices.

Justice Park Si-hwan (Presiding Justice), Kim Yong-dam, Park Il-hwan, Kim Neung-hwan (Presiding Judge for Report)

【참조조문】

[1] 형법 제20조

[2] 형법 제20조, 노동조합 및 노동관계조정법 제1조, 제4조, 제37조 제1항

[3] 형법 제20조, 노동조합 및 노동관계조정법 제1조, 제4조, 제37조 제1항

[4] 형법 제37조, 제314조 제1항, 제366조

【참조판례】

[1] 대법원 1998. 1. 20. 선고 97도588 판결(공1998상, 636), 대법원 2001. 10. 25. 선고 99도4837 전원합의체 판결(공2001하, 2624) / [3] 대법원 1992. 5. 12. 선고 91다34523 판결(공1992, 1839), 대법원 2001. 6. 26. 선고 2000도2871 판결(공2001하, 1785), 대법원 2002. 2. 26. 선고 99도5380 판결(공2002상, 1290)

【주문】·【이유】 전문 2,487자 · 펼쳐 보기

【피 고 인】

【상 고 인】 피고인들

【변 호 인】 변호사 권두섭외 3인

【원심판결】 서울중앙지법 2006. 11. 30. 선고 2006노2688 판결

【주 문】

상고를 모두 기각한다.

【이 유】상고이유를 판단한다.

1. 피고인들은 제1심의 유죄판결에 대하여 양형부당만을 이유로 항소하였음이 기록상 명백하므로 채증법칙 위반으로 인한 사실오인 등을 제1심판결을 그대로 유지한 원심판결에 대한 상고이유로 삼을 수 없다고 할 것이다.

2. 나아가 살펴보더라도, 근로자의 쟁의행위가 형법상 정당행위가 되기 위하여는, 첫째 그 주체가 단체교섭의 주체로 될 수 있는 자이어야 하고, 둘째 그 목적이 근로조건의 향상을 위한 노사간의 자치적 교섭을 조성하는 데 있어야 하며, 셋째 사용자가 근로자의 근로조건 개선에 관한 구체적인 요구에 대하여 단체교섭을 거부하였을 때 개시하되 특별한 사정이 없는 한 조합원의 찬성결정 등 법령이 규정한 절차를 거쳐야 하고, 넷째 그 수단과 방법이 사용자의 재산권과 조화를 이루어야 함은 물론 폭력의 행사에 해당되지 아니하여야 한다는 여러 조건을 모두 구비하여야 할 것인바( 대법원 1998. 1. 20. 선고 97도588 판결, 2001. 10. 25. 선고 99도4837 전원합의체 판결 등 참조), 정리해고나 사업조직의 통폐합, 공기업의 민영화 등 기업의 구조조정의 실시 여부는 경영주체에 의한 고도의 경영상 결단에 속하는 사항으로서 이는 원칙적으로 단체교섭의 대상이 될 수 없고, 그것이 긴박한 경영상의 필요나 합리적인 이유 없이 불순한 의도로 추진되는 등의 특별한 사정이 없는 한, 노동조합이 실질적으로 그 실시 자체를 반대하기 위하여 쟁의행위에 나아간다면, 비록 그 실시로 인하여 근로자들의 지위나 근로조건의 변경이 필연적으로 수반된다 하더라도 그 쟁의행위는 목적의 정당성을 인정할 수 없는 것이며( 대법원 2002. 2. 26. 선고 99도5380 판결 참조), 쟁의행위에서 추구되는 목적이 여러 가지이고 그 중 일부가 정당하지 못한 경우에는 주된 목적 내지 진정한 목적의 당부에 의하여 그 쟁의목적의 당부를 판단하여야 할 것이고, 부당한 요구사항을 뺐더라면 쟁의행위를 하지 않았을 것이라고 인정되는 경우에는 그 쟁의행위 전체가 정당성을 갖지 못한다고 보아야 할 것인바( 대법원 2001. 6. 26. 선고 2000도2871, 2003. 2. 28. 선고 2002도5881 판결 등 참조), 기록에 의하면 피고인들을 포함한 전국철도노동조합원들은 한국철도공사의 신규사업 외주화 계획의 철회를 목적으로 하였던 것이므로 특별한 사정이 없는 한 피고인들의 행위는 그 목적이 정당하지 못하여 정당한 쟁의행위에 해당한다고 할 수 없다.

같은 취지의 원심판결은 정당하고, 거기에 상고이유의 주장과 같은 채증법칙 위반이나 법리오해 등의 위법이 없다.

3. 한편, 2인 이상이 공동으로 가공하여 범죄를 행하는 공동정범에 있어서 공모나 모의는 반드시 직접, 명시적으로 이루어질 필요는 없고 순차적, 암묵적으로 상통하여 이루어질 수도 있으나 어느 경우에도 범죄에 공동 가공하여 이를 공동으로 실현하려는 의사의 결합이 있어야 할 것이고, 피고인이 공모의 점과 함께 범의를 부인하는 경우에는, 이러한 주관적 요소로 되는 사실은 사물의 성질상 범의와 상당한 관련성이 있는 간접사실 또는 정황사실을 증명하는 방법에 의하여 이를 입증할 수밖에 없으며, 이 때 무엇이 상당한 관련성이 있는 간접사실에 해당할 것인가는 정상적인 경험칙에 바탕을 두고 치밀한 관찰력이나 분석력에 의하여 사실의 연결상태를 합리적으로 판단하는 방법에 의하여야 할 것인바( 대법원 2003. 1. 24. 선고 2002도6103 판결, 2006. 2. 23. 선고 2005도8645 판결 등 참조), 위 법리와 원심이 유지한 제1심판결의 채택 증거를 기록에 비추어 살펴보면, 피고인 2의 판시 공동재물손괴의 점에 대한 공동가공의 의사를 인정한 원심의 조치는 정당한 것으로 수긍이 가고, 거기에 상고이유의 주장과 같은 채증법칙 위반으로 인한 사실오인이나 법리오해 등의 위법이 없다.

4. 그리고 기록에 의하여 살펴보면 판시 공동재물손괴의 범행은 판시 업무방해의 과정에서, 그 소란의 일환으로 저지른 것이기는 하지만, 양 죄는 피해자가 다를 뿐 아니라, 판시 업무방해의 범행은 판시 공동재물손괴의 범행 외에 장시간에 걸쳐 집단적으로 한국철도공사 사업본부장실을 점거하고 구호를 제창하는 등의 위력을 행사하는 방법으로 저지른 것이어서 행위의 태양이 다르다고 할 것이고, 따라서 양 죄는 실체적 경합범의 관계에 있다고 할 것이므로 같은 취지의 원심판결은 정당하고, 거기에 죄수에 관한 법리오해 등의 위법이 있다고도 할 수 없다.

5. 그러므로 상고를 모두 기각하기로 하여 관여 법관의 일치된 의견으로 주문과 같이 판결한다.

대법관 박시환(재판장) 김용담 박일환 김능환(주심)

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