Case Type: Unfair Dismissal and Severance Package Negotiation 

Outcome: Successfully reached a settlement for a severance package equivalent to 12 months of salary (12 times the initial offer) 

Case Details:

Case Overview

The client, who had been performing their duties diligently, received an abrupt and unilateral termination notice from the company within their first year of employment due to corporate restructuring and downsizing, despite having no fault or performance issues. At that time, the company offered a severance package consisting of only one month of base salary. However, since the client had signed an employment contract heavily weighted toward incentives, one month of base salary failed to compensate for their actual loss of expected income. Furthermore, this amount was merely equivalent to the standard dismissal notice allowance required by the Labor Standards Act, making it difficult to view as a genuine severance package. Additionally, a short-term career gap of less than a year posed a significant disadvantage for the client's future employment prospects.

Legal Representation and Negotiation Strategy

To resolve the dispute efficiently, the legal counsel bypassed immediate litigation or a remedy application to the Labor Relations Commission, opting instead to initiate strategic negotiations by sending an official legal notice under the law firm's name. The focus was not on appealing to emotion, but rather on clearly presenting the objective legal risks and financial losses the company would face if it proceeded with the dismissal. Specifically, the counsel highlighted flaws in the procedural and substantive validity of the termination, pointing out that the evaluation criteria lacked equity compared to other colleagues. Furthermore, the counsel quantified the client's actual financial damage resulting from the incentive-heavy salary structure and clearly notified the company of the risks it would bear if a remedy application for unfair dismissal were filed, such as the obligation to pay back wages for several months and the requirement to reinstate the employee.

Final Outcome

After reviewing the legal arguments and specific risk factors presented by the counsel, the company retracted its rigid stance. As a result, an early settlement was reached without undergoing prolonged litigation or Labor Relations Commission proceedings. The client received a severance package equivalent to 12 months of salary, which was 12 times the initial offer, thereby substantially recovering from the financial damage caused by the career disruption.

Case Inquiry: Attorney Min-hoo Kim