Seoul court rules that rescinding job within minutes via text constitutes unfair dismissal

A court has ruled that rescinding a job offer just four minutes after granting it to the applicant via text message amounts to unfair dismissal.

An image of a statue of Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A court has ruled that rescinding a job offer just four minutes after granting it to the applicant via text message amounts to unfair dismissal.

The Seoul Administrative Court ruled against a company that challenged a labor panel, which found that the business had unfairly dismissed an employee, according to legal sources on Monday. The court ruled that an employment contract is formed the moment a job offer is delivered, and a unilateral reversal afterward constitutes a dismissal.

An applicant surnamed Park applied to the job in 2024 after seeing the company’s job post for a global strategy and business development position.

After two rounds of interviews, Park received a text message from the company’s CEO at 11:56 a.m. on June 4, 2024, which outlined their starting date and annual salary. Four minutes later, the company sent another text message, canceling the offer.

Park filed a petition for relief with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission, and both the Seoul commission and the National Labor Relations Commission found the move amounted to an unfair dismissal. The company then filed an administrative lawsuit.

The court ruled that an employment contract was formed when the company sent Park the initial text message, as it viewed the job post not as a simple “hiring notice” but as an act intended to induce people to apply; in turn, a person’s application serves as an offer to enter into an employment contract. A contract is formed once the company completes its hiring process and notifies the applicant of their acceptance, the court said.

A sign in front of the Seoul Administrative Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, is pictured on Nov. 30, 2020. [YONHAP]

The company argued it was not subject to the Labor Standards Act because it had fewer than five regular employees, but the court rejected this claim, as the company and its subsidiary shared an office, conducted business on the same platform and moved staff between the two. Treating them as a single workplace, the court said, meant the employee count was at least five.

The company also argued that it had intended to hire Park as a professional manager for an overseas corporation, but no employment contract had been formed. The court rejected that argument, citing that the arrangement was not stated in the job post and was not separately mentioned during interviews.

“Once an employment contract is formed by a notice of acceptance, the requirements for dismissal under the Labor Standards Act must be met to cancel it,” the court said. “Canceling the hire without providing written notice of the reason and date of dismissal constitutes unfair dismissal.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY SUK GYEONG-MIN [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]