[Plaintiffs, Appellants]
[Defendant, Appellee] Head of Seoul Regional Railroad Administration
[Lower Court Judgment]
Seoul High Court Judgment of December 29, 1995, Case No. 95Gu5297
[Order]
All appeals are dismissed. The costs of appeal shall be borne by the Plaintiffs.
[Reasoning] The grounds of appeal are examined.
1. As to Ground No. 1
The lower court's findings and determinations regarding the points raised in the argument are, in light of the evidentiary relationships set forth in the lower court's judgment, justified and acceptable, and it cannot be said that there was any misapprehension of facts as argued, or any error of law in misunderstanding the legal nature of each Emergency Countermeasures Committee (비상대책위원회) in this case and the legal principles concerning industrial actions. Furthermore, according to the record, the disciplinary action against the Plaintiffs in this case was based on grounds such as the Plaintiffs having led the activities of each Emergency Countermeasures Committee in this case, which actively supported the unlawful industrial action of the National Locomotive Engineers' Council (전국기관차협의회, hereinafter referred to as the "Jeongigyeop"), a voluntary organization, and having disobeyed the official orders of their superiors, who had instructed employees, including the Plaintiffs, not to attend unlawful labor rallies of various kinds during working hours or by using disguised annual leave or sick leave, not to incite good-faith employees with distorted claims, and not to produce or distribute leaflets containing unjust assertions, etc. Accordingly, this disciplinary action is unrelated to whether the activities of each of the above Emergency Countermeasures Committees constitute industrial action. The argument is without merit.
2. As to Ground No. 2
Even if a public official applies for annual leave within the statutory number of annual leave days, an act of leaving one's post before receiving approval from the head of the relevant administrative agency constitutes, absent special circumstances, an act in violation of Article 58 of the State Public Officials Act (국가공무원법), and is thus a ground for disciplinary action (see Supreme Court Decision 87Nu657, 658, delivered December 8, 1987, among others).
According to the reasoning of the lower court's judgment, the lower court found, based on the evidence presented, that the head of the Seoul Freight Car Office, to which Plaintiff 1 belonged, had, on June 8, 1994, already notified each section chief and branch office head of the policy of absolutely disallowing annual leave, sick leave, early leave, or outings for on-duty employees on the following day, in preparation for the Susaek District Struggle Resolution Rally to be held by the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the Seoul Regional Headquarters of the National Railroad Workers' Union at the sports field of the said Freight Car Office; that the same content was also communicated to each section chief at a meeting of executives convened on the morning of the 9th of the same month; but that Plaintiff 1, on the morning of the 9th of the same month, merely wrote in the duty log that he was applying for annual leave, and left his post to attend the above rally without receiving approval from the office head. Based on this finding, the lower court determined that the head of the Seoul Freight Car Office was in a position where, for the smooth operation of railroad transport, he could not allow the struggle resolution rally organized by the Emergency Countermeasures Committee, a voluntary organization under his jurisdiction, to be held unchecked, and therefore his act of prohibiting his employees from taking annual leave in order to prevent them from attending the above rally cannot be seen as exceeding the bounds of his discretionary authority regarding approval of annual leave. The lower court further determined that, since the above Plaintiff merely submitted an application for annual leave under circumstances where such leave could not be approved, and left his post to organize the above struggle resolution rally on June 9, 1994, such conduct constitutes an act in violation of Article 58 of the State Public Officials Act and thus a ground for disciplinary action. Upon comparing the relevant evidence with the record, the lower court's findings and determinations as above are justified, and it cannot be said that there was any misapprehension of facts or any error of law in misunderstanding the legal principles concerning annual leave.
The precedent cited in the argument concerns a different factual situation and is not appropriate to invoke in this case. The argument is without merit.
3. As to Ground No. 3
According to the reasoning of the lower court's judgment, the lower court found that Plaintiff 1, as chairman of the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the Seoul Regional Headquarters, a voluntary organization formed in support of the struggle activities of Jeongigyeop, produced and distributed inflammatory leaflets, left his workplace, and actively participated in unlawful collective action, including organizing the unlawful Susaek District Struggle Resolution Rally. The lower court also found that Plaintiff 2, as the action squad leader of the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the Seoul Freight Car Office, led the above struggle resolution rally, used abusive language toward an employee of the Audit Office, incited participants to push executive staff who were performing their duties there into a cafeteria, thereby creating a hostile atmosphere, and, when the strike began under the leadership of Jeongigyeop, used abusive language toward a locomotive engineer who sought to maintain normal operations and engaged in collective disorderly conduct. The lower court determined that the degree of the Plaintiffs' involvement in such conduct was relatively serious, and that, in light of all the circumstances revealed in the pleadings of this case, including the fact that such conduct harmed the atmosphere of diligent service among railroad officials and led to the suspension of railroad operations for a considerable period, the disciplinary action of dismissal—the most severe type of disciplinary measure—imposed on the Plaintiffs cannot be regarded, in light of the Plaintiffs' long and faithful service, etc., as so harsh or so excessively severe as to be inconsistent with the equity of measures taken against other related persons, so as to exceed the bounds of disciplinary authority. In light of the record, the lower court's determination as above is justified, and it cannot be said that there was any error of law in misunderstanding the legal principles concerning abuse of disciplinary authority. The argument is without merit.
4. Therefore, all appeals are dismissed, and the costs of appeal are to be borne by the losing parties. This Judgment is rendered as set forth in the Order by the unanimous opinion of the participating Justices.
Justice Lee Yong-hoon (Presiding Justice), Park Man-ho, Park Jun-seo (Justice in Charge), Kim Hyung-sun