Court Rules Two Tutoring Academies 25 Minutes Apart Are Separate Workplaces

A South Korean court has ruled that two tutoring academies operated by the same owner but located 25 minutes apart on foot cannot be considered a single workplace.

According to legal circles on Wednesday, the Seoul Administrative Court's 12th Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Kang Jae-won) ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a worker identified as A against the National Labor Relations Commission chairman seeking to overturn a retrial decision on an unfair dismissal remedy. The ruling was handed down in October.

A signed an employment contract with Academy B in Seoul's Gangdong District in December 2023 to work as a part-time instructor. In February of the following year, Academy B verbally notified A of the termination of employment, citing complaints from parents. A filed for remedy with both the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission and the National Labor Relations Commission, claiming unfair dismissal, but both agencies dismissed the case on grounds that the workplace had fewer than five regular workers. Korea's Labor Standards Act restrictions on dismissal apply only to workplaces with five or more regular workers.

A then filed an administrative lawsuit, arguing that "the owner of Academy B also operates Academy C located 1.5 kilometers away and supervises workers at both academies, so the two should be considered a single workplace." The argument was that combining Academy B's four workers with Academy C's three workers would meet the threshold of five or more regular workers, making the Labor Standards Act applicable.

However, the court rejected A's argument. The court acknowledged that "the distance between the two academies takes approximately 25 minutes on foot," but ruled that "considering the characteristics of the tutoring academy industry that serves students, a 25-minute walk cannot be considered close enough to establish personal and physical connection."

The court further stated that "the personnel composition including part-time instructors at the two academies is not identical, and part-time instructors signed employment contracts specifying each academy," adding that "the employment contracts do not include provisions regarding personnel exchanges such as reassignment or transfer."