[1] The meaning and validity of the voluntary retirement (=the scheduled date of voluntary retirement) and whether one of the parties can withdraw voluntarily after the voluntary retirement agreement is reached (negative)

[2] The case reversing the judgment of the court below on the ground of insufficient hearing, in case where a worker dies before the scheduled date of the voluntary retirement after the agreement on voluntary retirement and the worker is not obligated to pay the voluntary retirement due to his death before

[1] The term "voluntary retirement" means that a worker terminates a labor relationship by an agreement after examining the requirements of an employer upon receiving an application for voluntary retirement and approving it. It does not take effect when the worker is determined as the person subject to voluntary retirement, but when the expected date of voluntary retirement comes to fall after the scheduled date of voluntary retirement, an employee is obligated to naturally retire and pay the amount of voluntary retirement. After an agreement for voluntary retirement has been reached, one of the parties is prohibited from voluntarily withdrawing his/her intent.

[2] The case reversing the judgment of the court below on the ground of incomplete hearing, in case where a worker dies before the scheduled date of the voluntary retirement after the agreement to the voluntary retirement and the intent of the party concerned at the time of the agreement to the voluntary retirement to pay the voluntary retirement amount to the case where the worker retires due to the death of a cause not attributable to the worker, and in any case, without deliberating on the purpose of the agreement to maintain the employment relationship by the scheduled date of the voluntary retirement, and without

[1] Articles 105, 152(1), and 543 of the Civil Act / [2] Articles 149, 152(1), and 154 of the Civil Act; Article 393 of the Civil Procedure Act

[1] Supreme Court Decision 94Da14629 delivered on August 9, 1994 (Gong1994Ha, 2277) Supreme Court Decision 96Da56306 delivered on September 12, 1997 (Gong1997Ha, 3086)

Plaintiff 1 and 3 others (Law Firm Ansan, Attorneys Cho Jong-soo et al., Counsel for the plaintiff-appellant-appellee)

Korea Electric Power Corporation (Attorney Song-tae, Counsel for defendant-appellee)

Daejeon High Court Decision 97Na9121 delivered on July 29, 1998

The judgment of the court below is reversed, and the case is remanded to Daejeon High Court.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. According to the reasoning of the judgment of the court below, the plaintiffs 1 (hereinafter referred to as "the deceased's voluntary retirement") who were employed by the defendant Corporation on February 24, 1965, and applied for the voluntary retirement on August 16, 1994 for the temporary retirement of the deceased's 4th day after excluding the general date of the voluntary retirement of the deceased's 9th day of the voluntary retirement. Since the regulations governing the voluntary retirement of the deceased's 9th day of the voluntary retirement are no longer effective, the court below decided the temporary retirement of the deceased's 9th day of the voluntary retirement by the head office via the head office of the division (Article 107), the employees who wish to make the voluntary retirement of the deceased's 9th day of the date of their voluntary retirement, and the voluntary retirement of the deceased's 19th day of the scheduled date of their voluntary retirement was no more than the final date of their voluntary retirement of the deceased's 9th day of the voluntary retirement.

2. In the case of voluntary retirement, it is reasonable to view that the retirement takes effect not by the effect of the retirement but by the time of the voluntary retirement, on the date of the scheduled voluntary retirement (see Supreme Court Decision 96Da56306, Sept. 12, 1997). Therefore, the ground of appeal to this effect is without merit.

However, there is a question in the judgment of the court below that the effect of the voluntary retirement shall only take place only for the scheduled date of the voluntary retirement, and where the voluntary retirement is deceased immediately before the scheduled date of the voluntary retirement.

In light of the purport of the system of voluntary retirement and the operational status of the system of voluntary retirement, which allows workers who have not reached the retirement age to make up for their retirement in advance and induce them to retire in advance according to the records, it is questionable whether the intent of the parties at the time of the agreement as above should not be paid on the ground that even if a worker retires due to reasons not attributable to the worker such as death before the scheduled date of voluntary retirement, it is difficult to say that the parties concerned at the time of agreement should not pay the voluntary retirement on the ground that the worker cannot pay the voluntary retirement on the scheduled date of voluntary retirement, even if he/she retires due to reasons not attributable to the worker such as death before the scheduled date of voluntary retirement.

Therefore, the court below should have judged the validity of the plaintiffs' claims by considering the purport of the parties' intent at the time of the agreement on voluntary retirement to pay the amount of the voluntary retirement even in the case of death, and in any case, it should have judged the validity of the plaintiffs' claims under the premise that it was conditional without such deliberation. Therefore, the court below erred by failing to exhaust all necessary deliberations, which affected the conclusion of the judgment. The ground of appeal pointing this out is with merit.

3. Therefore, without examining the plaintiffs' other grounds of appeal, we reverse the judgment below and the case is remanded to the court below for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices on the bench.

Justices Kim Jong-sik (Presiding Justice)