Court Orders Samsung BioLogics Union to Pay 20 Million Won Per Incident for Instructing Halt of Key Operations

Court Partially Grants Company's Request for Indirect Compulsory Enforcement

The court has partially accepted Samsung BioLogics' request for an indirect compulsory order against the labor union. According to the ruling, if the union instructs a halt to specific operations or distributes directives during the strike period, it must pay the company 20 million won per violation.

A labor union flag is hung at the Samsung BioLogics factory in Yeonsu District, Incheon. Yonhap News Agency

According to legal and bio industry sources on May 22, the 21st Civil Division of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Yoo Aram) partially approved Samsung BioLogics' application for an indirect compulsory order against the Samsung Group Super-Enterprise Labor Union, Samsung BioLogics Win-Win Branch, the previous day.

The court ruled that the union must not instruct or distribute guidelines to its members to halt specific operations during the collective action period based on the results of the strike vote held on March 29. While the company initially requested 100 million won per violation, the court reduced the amount and granted 20 million won per violation.

With this decision, the prohibition on instructing work stoppages applies to the final three processes among the nine processes for which the company had sought an injunction to prohibit industrial action: ▲concentration and buffer exchange, ▲drug substance filling, and ▲buffer preparation and supply (operations related to the previous two processes).

Previously, the court had dismissed the application for an indirect compulsory order when it reviewed the company's initial injunction request to prohibit industrial action. At the time, the court reasoned that it was unlikely the union would violate the ruling at the risk of criminal penalties. However, after the injunction, labor and management disputed whether the union's guidelines to members—such as instructions on using annual leave or obligations for overtime and holiday work—constituted violations. Taking this into account, the court partially accepted the application for an indirect compulsory order.

The court stated, "The dispute surrounding collective bargaining between labor and management has not been resolved, and there are significant differences in interpretation of the injunction and the boundaries of permissible industrial action," adding, "Given that there is a reasonable likelihood that the debtor may violate the injunction as the dispute escalates, the requirements for an indirect compulsory order have been met." The court further noted, "The amount of the compulsory payment was determined after considering the creditor's potential losses, the debtor's interests, and the debtor's income structure in the event of a violation of the injunction."

Some observers interpret this decision as a warning to the union, which is facing additional industrial action, such as a potential second strike. In March, Samsung BioLogics had also requested an indirect compulsory order alongside its injunction application, but the court dismissed it at that time, considering the union's stated intention to comply with the court's decision.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.