▲ Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)
Some 2,000 employees of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) who started as hiring-linked interns have lost a lawsuit filed against the company seeking unpaid performance bonuses and other wages.
The 42nd Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Choi Nu-rim) recently ruled against the 2,490 plaintiffs in the damages lawsuit filed against KHNP.
The employees who joined the lawsuit were hired as regular employees through the hiring-linked internship program between 2012 and 2018.
KHNP operated the hiring-linked internship program during that period in accordance with the Ministry of Economy and Finance's operational plan for public institution youth internship programs.
The employees argued that while working as hiring-linked interns, they performed the same work as regular employees but received salaries equivalent to about 80% of those of new regular hires.
They also filed the lawsuit in November 2023, claiming they were not paid basic bonuses, corporate performance bonuses, or welfare points.
However, the court judged that it was difficult to consider that the interns at the time performed substantially identical or similar work to regular employees.
The court stated, "Unlike regular employees, hiring-linked interns were fundamentally barred from using the internal business system and lacked access rights," adding, "Consequently, it was practically impossible for them to perform the same tasks carried out by regular employees."
It further explained, "The submitted evidence alone is insufficient to prove that the plaintiffs engaged in identical or similar work to regular employees during their time as hiring-linked interns," and noted, "Even if discriminatory treatment claimed by the plaintiffs existed, it is difficult to conclude that the company treated them unfavorably without reasonable cause simply because they were fixed-term workers."
The court also mentioned that even if some discriminatory treatment were recognized, the statutory period during which a lawsuit could be filed had already expired.
Considering that the issue of wage discrimination against former intern employees was discussed at the KHNP labor-management council, the court deemed it reasonable to view that the employees were aware of the discriminatory treatment no later than around December 2018.
Because the lawsuit was filed in November 2023—after the expiration of the three-year statutory limitation period for claiming wages or damages—the court ruled that the claims could not be accepted.
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