A personnel system that sets different hiring grades and pay steps based on military service status, with those differences extending to promotions, constitutes gender discrimination, a court has ruled.
According to legal circles on Wednesday, the 8th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Yang Soon-ju) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in February this year in a lawsuit filed by A against the National Human Rights Commission of Korea seeking to overturn the dismissal of her petition.
A was hired through open recruitment at incorporated association B. Under the organization's personnel management and compensation rules, college graduates and those with equivalent qualifications start at Grade 6, Step 10. In contrast, discharged military personnel with two years of military service receive an additional two pay steps, starting at Grade 5, Step 12. A filed a petition with the Human Rights Commission around October 2024, arguing that the system was structurally disadvantageous to women. However, the commission dismissed her petition in February last year, prompting A to file an administrative lawsuit. In the lawsuit, A argued, "Under the rules, new employees' starting position and pay step are determined solely by whether they have military experience." She added, "Even when performing the same work, those without military experience, including women, face delayed promotions and an annual wage gap of approximately 14 million won."
The court accepted her concerns regarding the promotion structure. The bench specifically noted that the organization's personnel system was designed so that military service directly affected the time required for promotion. "Under the organization's personnel regulations, Grade 6 employees are automatically promoted to Grade 5 upon reaching Step 12," the court said. "Employees who enter at Grade 6, Step 10 must wait two years before moving up to Grade 5." The court added, "Promotion to Grade 4 is only possible at least four years after promotion to Grade 5. Women without military experience inevitably take two more years to reach Grade 4 than discharged male soldiers who joined at the same time and performed the same duties."
However, the court determined that the wage gap arising from reflecting military service in pay steps itself was difficult to regard as discrimination. "The Discharged Soldiers Support Act allows military service periods to be included in work experience when determining wages," the bench said. "This is intended to compensate for economic losses incurred by those who served in the military through conscription or call-up regardless of their own will."
