[Photo] Supreme Court rules that actors and comedians qualify as “workers”

The Supreme Court of Korea has ruled that television actors, voice actors, comedians, and martial arts actors qualify as “workers” who have the right to assemble and form unions. The ruling was a confirmation of a legal victory by Korea Broadcasting Actors Union against the National Labor Relations Commission in which the former sued the latter by demanding the autonomy to organize into unions and negotiate with broadcasters on an equal footing. In 2012, the Korea Broadcasting Actors Union attempted to renegotiate actor commission with the Korea Broadcasting Corporation (KBS), but the National Labor Relations Commission declared that television actors did not qualify as “workers,” and therefore had no right to assemble into unions.