(a) Whether an agreement stipulating that a corporation shall pay the expenses and that the trainee shall work for the above corporation for a fixed period and shall return the amount corresponding to a certain ratio of the expenses paid to the trainee constitutes an liquidated penalty or liquidated damages under Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act

(b) Whether domestic and overseas years of study at a regular educational institution for the purpose of acquiring expertise in the field of study fall under the vocational training under the Framework Act on Vocational Training;

A. In a case where a juristic person pays tuition fees and training expenses for overseas academic trainees and provides them with a service period of three times the training period, but where a trainee fails to work during his compulsory service period after returning to Korea, an agreement that the trainee would return the amount equivalent to the ratio of the total compulsory service period of the past compulsory service period among the training expenses received shall be deemed as an agreement that the trainee would pay the expenses and redeem the expenses after returning to Korea, but if the trainee works for the specified period, it shall be exempted from the payment after returning to Korea. Thus, it shall not be deemed as a penalty or damages as prohibited by Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act.

(b) Domestic and overseas years of study in a regular educational institution, such as a four-year university or graduate school, for the purpose of acquiring specialized knowledge in a academic field such as business administration, shall not include the vocational training conducted for workers in order to acquire and improve job skills needed for the occupations prescribed by the Framework Act on Vocational Training, and shall not include it;

1. Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act; 2. Article 2 of the Framework Act on Vocational Training and Article 13 of the same Act;

The incorporated Korea International Trade Association

United Kingdom of America and two others

1. The Plaintiff:

(a) Defendant U2S shall pay the amount of 34,322,612 won and the amount at the rate of 25 percent per annum from May 17, 1990 to the date of full payment;

B. The defendant Ui-Ma, the relocation of Ui-Ma shall pay the amount of KRW 17,161,306 each of the amounts set forth in paragraph (a) above, and the amount at the rate of 25 percent per annum from May 17, 1990 to the full payment.

2. The costs of lawsuit shall be borne by the defendants.

3. Paragraph 1 can be provisionally executed.

The same shall apply to the order.

In full view of the facts that the number of defendant U.S. U.S. military service was employed as a witness at the Plaintiff Association and completed an overseas academic training course at a master's degree for the above training period from March 5, 1986 to June 30, 198, and that the above defendant received KRW 39,915,522 from the Plaintiff Association for the above training period, there is no dispute between the parties concerned, and subparagraph 1, subparagraph 2, subparagraph 3, subparagraph 4, subparagraph 4-1, and 2, and the purport of oral argument for the plaintiff Association's resignation from the retirement period from the date of the above training period from March 5, 1986 to June 30, 198, and that the above defendant received KRW 39,915,522 from the Plaintiff Association for the above training period, and the remaining period of service of the Plaintiff Association for the remaining period after the completion of the retirement period shall be paid within the total service period of the Plaintiff Association's resignation period (the plaintiff Association shall not return to the Association within the remaining period after the retirement period.

When the plaintiff sought reimbursement of the training expenses corresponding to the compulsory service period of Defendant U2K and the remaining Defendants, who are the trainee themselves, the defendants' attorney asserts that the above training expenses reimbursement agreement constitutes a compensation agreement in the event of failure to perform labor contract prohibited by Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act. However, the above training expenses reimbursement agreement is invalid since the trainee received education abroad, it is reasonable to view that the training expenses reimbursement agreement is an agreement to reimburse the expenses after return and to exempt the trainee from the payment of the expenses if the plaintiff association pays the expenses and works for the prescribed period. This is not an estimate of penalty or damages as prohibited under Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act. Thus, the above argument is groundless.

In addition, the defendants' legal representative is a kind of vocational training as provided by the Framework Act on Vocational Training, and it is argued that the plaintiff's claim is unfair in view of the fact that the plaintiff's work should bear the expenses necessary for the vocational training under Article 13 (1) of the above Act. However, according to the above occupation training guidelines (Evidence 1 of the above Rule), the academic training of the plaintiff's association refers to domestic and overseas training conducted at regular educational institutions such as four-year universities or graduate schools for the purpose of acquiring expertise in the academic field such as business administration (Article 4 of the above Guidelines), and it differs from the vocational training conducted in order to obtain and improve the job ability necessary for the job of the worker as provided by the Framework Act on Vocational Training (Article 17 of the above Act provides for the employment obligation of two times the training period in certain cases). Thus, the above assertion is groundless.

Therefore, the plaintiff is obligated to pay damages for delay at the rate of 34,322,612 won [39,915,522 won (307 days; 2,191 day; 307 days of service after returning to Korea; /2,191 day; 6 years) corresponding to the period of continuous service among the total amount of training expenses paid by the plaintiff's association in accordance with the above job training guidelines, and at the rate of 250% per annum from May 17, 1990 to the full payment day after this decision is made by the plaintiff. The defendant Yu Jong-dong and Song-dong are obligated to pay damages for delay at the rate of 34,322,612 won and each of the above 34,322,612 won, 1/27,306 won, and 306 won and damages for delay until the day after the decision is made. The plaintiff's damages for delay shall be paid at the above rate of provisional execution against the defendants.

Judges Jeong Young-chul (Presiding Judge)