The Supreme Court has finalized a ruling that Webzen (CEO Kim Tae-young) committed unfair labor practices by withholding two years of wage increases and incentives from its union branch head.

On April 30, the Third Division of the Supreme Court (Justice Lee Sook-yeon presiding) dismissed Webzen's appeal in a lawsuit filed against the chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission to cancel a re-adjudication decision regarding unfair labor practices.

The Webzen union branch was established in April 2021. The company signed a collective agreement with the union in November of that year and a wage agreement in June 2022. Article 11, Section 3 of the collective agreement stipulated that incentives and salary increases for full-time union representatives should be calculated based on the 'average of all union members.'

The issue arose shortly after the 2022 wage agreement took effect. Webzen demanded a full list of union members, claiming it was necessary to calculate the average, but the union refused, citing personal data protection concerns.

According to the Administrative Court, labor-management tensions were high at the time—exacerbated by the unfair dismissal of the union branch's senior deputy head—leading members to avoid payroll deduction of union dues for fear that their union affiliation would be exposed to the company.

The union proposed three alternatives in writing: #1 applying the average of all employees, #2 applying the average of employees with similar tenure and job functions, and #3 applying the average based on the results of a union status survey.

Webzen rejected all three proposals and repeatedly demanded the full member list for over a year. In May 2023, the union provided a CMS list of 24 members who had consented to payroll deduction, but Webzen rejected even this, claiming it was 'not the full list of union members,' and continued to withhold wage increases and incentives for 2022 and 2023.

This case underwent five separate reviews, including two stages at the labor commission and three levels of the judiciary.

In October 2023, the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission ruled in the first instance that Webzen's actions constituted unfair labor practices by way of disadvantageous treatment. Webzen requested a re-adjudication, but the National Labor Relations Commission dismissed it on the same grounds. Webzen then filed an administrative lawsuit to cancel that decision. The Seoul Administrative Court dismissed Webzen's claim in January 2025, and the Seoul High Court dismissed the appeal in December of the same year. With the Supreme Court's dismissal of the final appeal on April 30, Webzen's defeat was finalized.

The High Court determined that providing the full member list was inherently impossible. It reasoned that union membership is considered sensitive information under the Personal Information Protection Act, and submitting the list to the company without individual consent would violate the law. Furthermore, the court found that the collective agreement did not obligate the union to provide the full list without member consent.

The court also ruled that the three alternatives proposed by the union were reasonable. It cited cases from other companies where, in the absence of payroll deduction, wages for full-time union representatives were paid based on the 'average of all employees.'

Webzen was previously investigated by the prosecution for alleged unfair labor practices but was cleared of charges with a non-indictment decision. Regarding this, the court explicitly stated that "the criteria for judgment in criminal prosecution are stricter than those in administrative proceedings," and that "administrative courts are not bound by the non-indictment decisions of investigative agencies."

A Webzen representative stated, "We respect the Supreme Court's decision. We will review the specific details and ensure compliance in accordance with the ruling."