TAE Junsik
In April 2022, Bora Jung filed a lawsuit against Yonsei University. She is seeking KRW 77,169,106 in severance pay and benefits that the university is refusing to pay despite her retirement. This amount is no more or no less than a full-time professor would receive for the same working hours. However, as she began her employment as a short-term contract worker, Yonsei University claims that Bora is not protected by the Labor Standards Act. In order to ¡®prove¡¯ her labor for the past 12 years, Bora continues her fight to have her ¡®existence¡¯ as a professor recognized.
More than half of university education in South Korea is provided by lecturers. Most lecturers are short-term contract workers who need to renew their contracts every six months. Pursuant to the Labor Standards Act, these workers are required to work at least 15 hours a week to qualify for severance pay and benefits, but under the Lecturer Act, they cannot teach for more than nine hours a week. This means they have to undergo the arduous process of litigation to receive their benefits. Bora Jung, a former lecturer, writer, and demonstrator, has started her own fight against her alma mater, Yonsei University, one of the best practicing institutions of neoliberalism in Korea. I¡¯m going to do my part to stand with her in solidarity.
TAE Junsik