노동법의 길

Abstract

This essay is to review perspectives of Professor Heung Jae Lee on labor law in order to commemorate his retirement at Seoul National University. As one of the greatest scholars in the field of labor law academy in Korea, Professor Lee has contributed very much to the development of Korean labor law. His achievements on labor law may be able to help us to understand basic perspectives on labor law so as to overcome its crisis. Especially his works lend us a hand with the solution of pending issues of labor law, the problems of non-regular worker and welfare system. Though it was hard to introduce his voluminous works correctly, but only for the purpose of this writing this paper primarily attempts to take a general view of aca- demic works of Professor Lee by classifying into several subjects; dismissal, history, great persons, and effectiveness. Firstly, he established re-foundation of labor law based on social fundamental rights. To build legal principle of dismissal, he started with the concept of the enjoyment of labor rights that is the right to live as work- ing decently. Secondly, he tried to find the historical roots of labor law in the way of his own, so called ‘the approach of historical and critical biography’. In this context, he made a character sketch Hugo Sinzheimer who erected fundamental the- ories of labor law. Thirdly, he embarked on a study of labor law’s history relating with making of labor acts in 1953, the first acts for labor in Korea. He certified the identities of labor legislations (Labor Union Act, Industrial Disputes Adjustment Act, Labor Committee Act, Labor Standards Act) and gave an outline of Nation Assembly’s debates for enacting ‘Equal Right to Share Profits of the Private Company’ in First Constitution. Finally, He dedicated his lifetime to find out get the answer about “What is the practical function and importance of labor law in Korea?” and “Is labor law is valuable as a social norm? If not, what is the cause?” To resolve these matters, He have been quite emphatic about freedom in labor or- ganization’s activities based on democratic Constitution and economic growth in Korea and equitability in justice related to labor cases. The epic voyage of Professor Lee’s academic achievements may provide oppor- tunities to consider ‘the way of human’ as well as ‘the way of labor law’. More than all, his studies will suggest an surmountable methods of crisis of labor law.