No dedicated rules or budget for interpretation support; only 3 cases assisted through July this year

Procedural guidance for applicants also lacking, advocates say

Foreign construction workers [The Herald Business DB]
Foreign construction workers [The Herald Business DB]

Foreign workers who have turned to labor commissions to contest unfair dismissals are struggling to navigate the relief process due to a lack of interpretation support, data shows. Advocates say a proper support system must be put in place so that language barriers do not prevent workers from fully explaining the grounds for their dismissal claims and the harm they have suffered.

According to data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Yong-woo of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee by the National Labor Relations Commission, only 25 cases involving foreign workers' relief applications received interpretation or translation assistance over the roughly five-year period from 2021 through July this year. Just three cases received such support from January through July this year. Although foreign workers filed 307 relief applications through August this year, the commission has no multilingual counselors on staff.

When a relief application — such as one contesting an unfair dismissal — is filed with a labor commission, the commission collects written statements and responses, investigates the facts, and holds an examination hearing. The hearing is the stage at which a worker directly presents their case to the panel members who will render a final decision. Given the complex legal terminology and the back-and-forth over the circumstances of a dismissal, interpretation is an essential tool for foreign workers with limited Korean to exercise their right to relief.

Yet no separate rules currently govern the scope, method or procedures for providing interpretation support to foreign workers. No dedicated budget has been allocated for that purpose either.

The legal basis currently used for such support is a provision on reimbursing costs for general attendees. Article 23, Paragraph 3 of the Labor Relations Commission Act requires that persons who attend a proceeding at the commission's request — beyond the parties directly involved — be reimbursed for expenses in accordance with presidential decree. Article 11 of the implementing ordinance to the same law directs that the civil servant travel expense regulations be applied by analogy in such cases. The commission has been providing interpretation support by invoking this provision.

While a legal basis exists for paying the costs of an interpreter's attendance, dedicated procedures for foreign workers to request interpretation support and a ring-fenced budget for that purpose have not been established. Advance guidance on how to apply for cost reimbursement is also inadequate, making it difficult for workers who have arranged their own interpreters to know whether they are eligible for support.

As a result, a complaint was filed with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in August alleging that the central and regional labor commissions had discriminated against foreign workers seeking unfair dismissal relief by conducting examination hearings without providing interpretation. The labor commission deflected responsibility, saying it "was unable to provide support within the agency's budget." After the controversy erupted, the commission belatedly announced it would draw up operational guidelines for supporting foreign workers.

"Examination hearings at labor commissions involve complex legal terminology and intense disputes over the facts, which means interpretation support is a prerequisite for fair access to relief," Lee said. "The National Labor Relations Commission must carefully put in place institutional safeguards to guarantee meaningful procedural participation rights, and it must secure the necessary budget to back them up."


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