Chang Soo Jin

Practice Areas

Labor & Employment, Labor & Employment Litigation,

Administrative Litigation, Constitutional Law Disputes

Career

● 2016-Present Lee & Ko

● 2018-2020 Auditor to Society of Labor Law Theory and Professional

● 2018-2019 Advisory Counsel to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety

● 2017 Adjunct Professor, Ewha Woman’s University Law School

● 2014-2016 Presiding Judge, Seoul Southern District Court

● 2011-2014 Presiding Judge, Seoul Administrative Court

● 2009-2011 Presiding Judge, Incheon District Court

● 2007-2009 Presiding Judge, Daejeon District Court

● 2004-2006 Research Officer(dispatched), Constitutional Court

● 2003-2007 Judge, Seoul High Court

● 2002-2003 Judge, Seoul District Court

● 1999-2002 Judge, Kwangju District Court

● 1997-1999 Judge, Seoul District Court

● 1995-1997 Judge, Incheon District Court

Publications

● Annotation on Trade Union And Labor Relations Adjustment Act (2nd Edition) (2023)

● (Annual) Analysis on Key Decisions in Employment Law, Law Times (2020, 2021, 2022)

● Analysis on Permissibility of Surveillance Footage as Disciplinary Grounds, Article No. 35, Labor Law Forum (2022)

● Annotation on Labor Standards Act (2nd Edition) (2020)

● Analysis on Superime Court’s Decisions 2019, Law Times (2020)

● Analysis on Constitutional Court’s Decision to Include Commute-Injuries as Part of “Work-Related Injuries” under the Industrial Accident Compensation Act,Labor Law Monthly(2019)

● Analysis on Superime Court’s Decisions 2018,Law Times (2019)

● Analysis on Employee Status of TV Actors under Labor Union Act,Law Times (2018)

● Analysis on Constitutional Court’s Decision to Strike Down the Prohibition against Employers from Providing Financial Support for Unions,Labor Law Monthly, (2018)

● “GREATER REFORMS FOR PROMOTING WORK-LIFE BALANCE – CHANGES TO THE GENDER EQUAL EMPLOYMENT”(2019)

● “Discussion on the Disposition of Corrective Orders,” Labor Law Magazine (2017)

● “Legal Issues of Significance in Collective/Wage Agreements,” Labor Law Magazine (2017)

● “Theories and Practice of Administrative Litigation (Administrative Litigation Related to Labor)”, Seoul Administrative Court (2014)

● “Understanding of Trials involving Refugees” (revised edition, co-author), Seoul Administrative Court (2014)

● “Income Tax on Married Couple's Assets (Commentary on Constitutional Court Precedent), Judicial Development Foundation (2010)

● “Sales of Drinking Water and Tap Water (Commentary on Constitutional Court Precedent),” Judicial Development Foundation (2010)

● “Confirmation of the Unconstitutionality of the Special Law on the Remedy for University Faculty Members whose Professorship is Lost by the Expiration of Appointment Term (Commentary on Constitutional Court Precedent),” Constitutional Court (2007)

● “On the Constitutionality of 4-Time Continuous Terms of Heads of Local Governments (Commentary on Constitutional Court Precedent), Constitutional Court (2006)

● “On the Constitutionality of School Real Estate Premium Fees (Commentary on Constitutional Court Precedent), Constitutional Court (2006)

[PRESENTATIONS]

● Adjunct Professor, Ewha Woman’s University School of Law (2017)

● Practical Labor Law, Supreme Court Labor Law Community (2015)

● Labor Law In Practice, Korean Public Workers’ Society (2015)

● Application and Operation of the Proportional Principle in Practice, Supreme Court Constitution Research Council (2014)

● Practical Issues on Administrative Procedures, Korean Bar Association (2014)

● The 15th Anniversary Conference of the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Litigation for Foreigners, Seoul Administrative Court (2013)

● Issues and Trends in Administrative Cases, National Human Rights Commission (2013)

● Procedures and Issues of Labor-related Administrative Litigation, Judicial Research and Training Institute (2013)

● The Trial Court of the Seoul Administrative Court, Seoul High Court (2012)

● Proportional Principle in Constitutional Court Cases (Public Law Study No. 37, No. 4), Korean Public Law Institute (2009)

Personal

As a senior partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group, Mr. Chang Soo Jin’s practice focuses on a broad range of civil, criminal and constitutional law issues. Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Mr. Jin served with distinction as a judge for about 21 years in various courts, including 2 years as a Research Officer for the Constitutional Court. Mr. Jin’s most recent judicial posts before joining Lee & Ko included the Seoul Administrative Court and the Seoul Southern District Court, where he presided over the adjudication of various cases relating to labor & employment law, administrative rulings and tax matters, among other things. Mr. Jin took the lead in issuing a number of rulings on labor & employment cases that have had an enormous impact on the labor/employment sector. Such cases included, among others, a decision on wage standards for pilots and a decision on dismissals of underperforming employees. Other influential rulings by him have included a decision in a high-profile case concerning the validity of legal limits on giant retailers’ operating hours and a decision on taxation of real-estate holdings.

Languages Spoken

● Korean

● English

Work Highlights

● Represented major clients (including a financial institution, a manufacturer, a public institution) in a dispute involving “peak wage” practice

● Represented major clients in a litigation over the classification of performance-based bonus

● Led regulatory compliance projects in relation to workplace/occupational safety matters (including regulatory risk management under the new Serious Accident Punishment Act) and defended clients in associated criminal matters

● Represented a wide array of major clients (e.g., manufacturers, service providers, public institutions) against discriminatory employment practice claim and/or unlawful dispatch claim

● Spearheaded major workforce restructuring projects for clients in both public/private sectors (e.g., manufacturer, service providers, public institutions) ) to convert non-regular workers to regular-employees

● Successfully defended clients against allegations of unfair labor practice and potential criminal sanctions

● Successfully represented clients in management-union disputes and collective bargagining negotiations involving multiple unions

● Consulted clients major distributors and large-scale manufacturers on labor-management relations and non-regular workers management

● Represented public institutions and renowned financial institutions against claims for employee-status by subcontracted workers

● Represented major clients in both public and private sectors (including financial, automotive, manufacturing, heavy industries, steel, shipbuilding, and airline industries) in socially impactful cases involving ordinary-wage

● Represented major clients in wholesale on work hour claims

● Represented clients in litigations arising out of workforce reduction cases, wrongful termination claim, termination on the grounds of underperformance, wrongful transferSuccessfully represented large corporate employers against claims of unfair labor practice by labor unions

● Provided legal advisory services for clients to engage labor unions and lawfully respond to union activities

● Represented major clients in industrial accident cases and damage

● Represented major clients in litigations involving the employee status of a variety of professions (e.g., business executive, lecturer, counselor, freelancer, and other similar professions)

Education

Awards