Migration Jurisprudence from the South › South Korea
Industrial trainees and the Labor Standards Act
Constitutional Court of Korea · South Korea · 2007-08-30 · National court
Citation: 2004Hun-Ma670
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May foreign “industrial trainees” who do the work of employees be denied key protections of the Labor Standards Act?
What the court decided
No. Excluding them from protections such as paid leave and overtime pay breached equality.
In plain language
Korea brought in foreign workers as “trainees” who worked like employees but without full labour rights. The Constitutional Court said this was unequal treatment.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Korea mendatangkan pekerja asing sebagai “peserta magang” yang bekerja seperti karyawan tetapi tanpa hak penuh. MK menyatakan ini perlakuan tidak setara.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah “peserta magang industri” asing yang melakukan pekerjaan karyawan ditolak perlindungan utama UU Standar Ketenagakerjaan?
What happened afterwards
- 2007-08-30: Decision.
- 2007: Trainee scheme folded into the Employment Permit System.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/kr-trainees-2007/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.