The defendant's appeal is dismissed.

1. Summary of grounds for appeal;

A. misunderstanding the legal principles, although the Defendant made best efforts to pay wages and retirement allowances to workers, the Defendant was unable to pay them inevitably due to the aggravation of financial standing following the management crisis of C Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “C”), and thus, there is a reason to deny liability for the Defendant’s act.

B. The punishment sentenced by the lower court (eight months of imprisonment) is too unreasonable.

2. Determination

A. In determining the misapprehension of the legal principle as to the assertion of misapprehension of the legal principle, the crime of violation of the obligation to pay wages and retirement allowances as stipulated in the Labor Standards Act and the Guarantee of Workers' Retirement Benefits Act has the best efforts to pay them. However, the employer is exempted from liability only in cases where the inevitable circumstances that were unable to pay them within the payment period due to financial difficulties, etc. due to financial difficulties, etc. are acknowledged in light of social common sense. The employer cannot be exempted from liability merely because the employer was forced to pay them by means of financial difficulties, etc., and whether there was an inevitable circumstance in which the employer could not pay them within the payment period. In determining whether there was an “inevitable circumstance that was unable to pay wages or retirement allowances within the payment period”, the employer’s efforts to pay the maximum amount to early liquidation of wages or retirement allowances in order to secure the stability of the livelihood of the retired worker, etc., or presented a clear statement of the future repayment plan and consultation with the worker in good faith, and whether the measures can be objectively assessed as acceptable from the standpoint of the retired worker, etc. (see Supreme Court Decision 2005Do9230, supra.).