Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act — Article 2 (Definitions)

The terms used in this Act are defined as follows: <Amended on Jan. 5, 2021; Sep. 9, 2025>1. “Worker” means any person who lives on wages, a salary, or any other income equivalent thereto, regardless of the person's occupation;2. “Employer” means a business owner, a person responsible for the management of a business, or a person who acts on behalf of a business owner with regard to matters relating to workers in the business; in such cases, even a person who is not a party to an employment contract shall be deemed to be an employer, to the extent that he or she is in a position to substantially and specifically control and determine the working conditions of workers;3. “Employers' association” means an organization of employers which has powers to adjust or control its members in connection with labor relations;4. “Trade union” means an organization or associated organization of workers, which is organized in voluntary and collective manner upon the workers’ initiative for the purpose of maintaining and improving their working conditions and enhancing their economic and social status; provided, an organization shall not be regarded as a trade union in cases falling under any of the following subparagraphs:a. Where an employer or other persons who always act in the interest of the employer is allowed to join it;b. Where most of its expenditure is supported by the employer;c. Where its activities are only aimed at mutual benefits, moral culture and other welfare undertakings;d. Deleted; <Sep. 9, 2025>e. In case where its aims are mainly directed at political movements;5. “Industrial dispute” means any state of dispute arising from a disagreement in claims between a trade union and an employer or an employers' association (hereinafter referred to as the "parties to labor relations") with respect to the determination of terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, working hours, welfare, dismissal, the status of workers, and other treatment, and to managerial decisions affecting terms and conditions of employment, or arising from a clear violation by an employer of a collective agreement with respect to matters set forth in subparagraph 2a through d of Article 92; in such cases, disagreement in claims means a situation in which the parties are no longer able to reach an agreement through voluntary bargaining even if they continue efforts to reach such agreement;6. “Industrial action” means actions or counter-actions which obstruct the normal operation of a business, such as strikes, sabotage, lock-outs, and other activities through which the parties to labor relations intend to accomplish their claims.