The defendant shall be innocent.

1. The Defendant in the facts charged is the user who employs 50 full-time workers as the representative director of Gangnam-gu Seoul Metropolitan Government building B and D (ju) and runs a construction business. He/she is a subordinate contractor who subcontracts the part of wood and steel reinforced concrete construction among new construction works in Geumcheon-gu Seoul Metropolitan Government apartment construction works.

Where a construction business has been executed two or more times under subparagraph 11 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry, if a sewage supplier who is not a constructor defined in subparagraph 7 of Article 2 of the same Act fails to pay wages (limited to wages arising from the relevant construction works) to his/her workers, a person directly responsible for the supply and demand of wages shall be jointly and severally liable with a sewage supplier for the payment of wages to his/her workers employed by a sewage supplier.

Nevertheless, the Defendant was employed by E without a construction business license from October 7, 2015 to October 30, 2015, and retired from office on October 2015, G’s total wages of KRW 6,840,000, including wages of KRW 2,40,000 on October 10, 2015, did not pay 6,840,000, respectively, within 14 days from the date of retirement without agreement between the parties on the extension of payment period.

2. Determination:

A. The Defendant and his defense counsel did not have a duty to pay wages to the employees whom E has employed, as the Defendant paid more than the contract amount to E.

In addition, because he was unaware of his employment, he did not have any intention on the delayed payment of wages.

B. Article 44 of the Labor Standards Act provides that, in cases of a general subcontract, an immediate upper-tier contractor shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of wages with a sewage-based subcontractor if there is a reason to return to the immediate upper-tier contractor as prescribed in Article 24 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act.

On the other hand, Article 44-2 of the Labor Standards Act is liable to pay wages to workers regardless of whether or not there is a direct reason for construction business.