After conducting two interviews, the company informed the candidate, “You can start working from next Monday.” The court ruled that a labor contract was established between the two parties. The Seoul Administrative Court’s 13th Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Jin Hyun-seop) recently ruled against fintech startup company A in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a re-evaluation ruling by the Central Labor Commission regarding the unfair cancellation of employment.
Company A had been recruiting a global fintech services strategy and business development manager for 2024. Candidate B applied and attended two interviews on May 29 and June 3 of the same year. On June 4, the day after the second interview, Company A sent a text message to B at 11:56 AM, stating, “We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted. You may start work next Monday, June 10.” However, just four minutes later, at noon, the company sent another message saying, “We are canceling the employment.”
Claiming the cancellation was unjust, B applied for relief at the Seoul Regional Labor Commission. When the commission ruled in favor of B, Company A appealed to the Central Labor Commission but was dismissed. Subsequently, Company A filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court to annul the re-evaluation decision, arguing that the company, with fewer than five regular employees, was not subject to the Labor Standards Act and that no labor contract with B had been established.
The court did not accept Company A’s argument, finding that since the company shared an office and employment with a subsidiary, the total number of employees was at least 16. The court also determined that the communication of acceptance to B after the recruitment process indicated the formation of a labor contract between the two parties.
The ruling stated, “The company’s job posting constitutes an ‘invitation to offer’ regarding a labor contract, and B’s job application represents an ‘offer’. The acceptance or offer of employment communicated to B by the company after the interview constitutes an ‘acceptance’ of B’s offer, thus establishing a labor contract.” Consequently, to cancel the employment, Company A would need to meet the dismissal requirements stipulated by the Labor Standards Act. Therefore, the unilateral revocation of employment by Company A was deemed an “illegal and unjust dismissal.”