On 27 September 2018, Korea’s Supreme Court upheld a former court ruling that Bosch and its former CEO Lee Man-haeng, 59, and other officials were guilty of violations of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act, including acts of interference and discrimination. The court was ruling on an appeal against the original conviction and came six years after the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) first lodged a complaint.
Bosch had enlisted the services of Creative Consulting, a company renowned for its union-busting strategies. Its approach was to create company-led unions rather than the existing industry-based unions. Bosch workers had been represented by a chapter of KMWU since 1987. It was after the multiple union system was introduced in 2011 that Bosch signed a contract with Creative Consulting.
A new Bosch company union was formed in February 2012. Within ten days, 210 members of the KMWU union had left to join the new organisation. On the following payday, 7 March, Bosch delivered all the union dues deducted from members’ wages to the new union, which had not yet completed its establishment procedures. After establishing a collective agreement with the new union in 2013 stipulating the payment of 4.2 million won (US$3,780) each in incentives, Bosch then presented the KMWU union with another collective agreement containing less advantageous terms.
In the first and second trials, the courts had ruled that those acts constituted “improper labour control and interference with the intent of influencing union organising and activities.”
Lee and the company were sentenced to fines of five million won (US$4,500), with additional fines of three million won (US$2,700) each against the human resources/labour affairs director and vice president, respectively a 58-year-old surnamed Son and a 57-year-old surnamed Shin.