KB News Desk
Dismissed workers from Korea Optical High-Tech, who staged a 600-day rooftop protest after the company shut its fire-damaged plant, suffered another legal setback Thursday as an appeals court rejected their claim that another Nitto Denko affiliate should have taken over their employment.
The Seoul High Court upheld a ruling that Korea Nitto Optical did not commit unfair dismissal by refusing to hire the former workers, according to the Korean Metal Workers’ Union.
The dispute began after a fire severely damaged Korea Optical High-Tech’s plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, in October 2022. The company, which was operated by Japan’s Nitto Denko Corp., decided the following month to liquidate the Korean subsidiary.
The workers contended that production had effectively been transferred to Korea Nitto Optical, another Nitto Denko affiliate in Korea, so their employment should have been carried over.
The company maintained that the two affiliates were separate legal entities and Korea Nitto Optical had no obligation to hire them.
Some of the dismissed workers later staged a rooftop protest that lasted 600 days and drew nationwide attention.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon and then-Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae visited the protest site last year, urging the workers to come down while pledging efforts to help resolve the dispute.
The union said it submitted additional evidence during the appeal, including organizational charts, budget documents and work logs, but failed to persuade the court.
“The court ignored the reality of how the businesses operated and accepted only the company’s argument that the two corporations were legally separate, effectively justifying the mass dismissals,” a union official said.
“We will continue our fight against both Nitto Denko and the judiciary.”
