In March last year, Yongin Mental Hospital abruptly decided to give in the operation of a mental hospital branch funded by the Seoul metropolitan government.

In response to this decision by the Yongin Mental Hospital, the Seoul metropolitan government told the hospital that it will succeed the employment of 83 employees who were affected by the operation closing and asked the Yongin Mental Hospital to provide the Seoul City with related documents in order to take necessary measures for them.

However, Yongin Mental Hospital belatedly replied one month after the termination of the contract which had lasted for over 28 years since 1987 and even they did not inform the affected employees about the intended employment succession by the Seoul metropolitan government.

The hospital instead spread a rumor that only 23 employees will be rehired on the fixed term contract basis by the Seoul City so as to interrupt the affected employees from moving to the newly commissioned Seoul Medical Center.

On June 10, Yongin Mental Hospital dismissed 20 employees for the reasons of managerial difficulties. The KHMU local affiliate at Yongin Mental Hospital strongly criticized that last year the hospital interrupted the employment succession, but this year it retrenched workers en masse.

The local union has been staging strikes for 75 days up until today and demanding the reinstatement of dismissed employees, employment stability, respect for statutory ordinary wage and retirement pay. In the meanwhile, Kyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission decided that the layoff by the Yongin Mental Hospital is unfair dismissal and unfair labor practice as well.

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