프로야구 선수계약 문제점에 관한 검토 -노동법적 보호 방안을 중심으로-

The reason for writing this article begins with my long-standing question. I couldn't erase the question of “Why?” by watching the Korean professional baseball (KBO) establish and operate a player council, not a player labor union. Although there are differences between the continental and Anglo-American legal circles, the U.S. professional baseball (MLB), which receives an incomparably higher annual salary than Korean professional baseball players, has established a player labor union to protect the rights and interests of players, and it starts with doubts about why our professional baseball is not established as a player labor union. The promotion of professional baseball players to form labor unions goes back to the early days of professional baseball. In 1983, not long after the launch of professional baseball, some team players asked the Ministry of Labor for a questionnaire on the nature of workers to join the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, and the Ministry of Labor decided that professional baseball players were not eligible for the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. At that time, the main reason why the Ministry of Labor did not recognize the worker's nature of professional baseball players was that professional games, including professional baseball, cannot be regarded as labor, and that it is intended to combine the players' abilities for the success of the game, so it cannot be equated with the command and manager that is carried out between labor and management under the Labor Standards Act. The second attempt to establish a labor union was in 2000. At that time, famous players, including Song Jin-woo and Yang Joon-hyuk, led the push to establish a labor union, but it was canceled due to the clubs' argument that it was impossible to establish a labor union. At the time, the clubs argued that professional baseball players were in the position of individual business owners, so it was impossible to establish a labor union because they were not workers. Even if a professional baseball player is not a worker under the Labor Standards Act, as the clubs argued in 2000, even if he is not a worker under the Labor Standards Act in the position of an individual business, can he become a worker under the Labor Union Act? In Japan, where the legal system is similar to ours, a Japanese professional baseball player labor union is operated. Japan does not recognize the worker nature of professional baseball players, but the labor union recognizes it, so if players are damaged by their rights and interests, they can go on strike and refuse training. The players we cheer and cheer for in the CRT are very few of the total professional baseball players. Most of the players except them are unstable form of players going to and from the first and second teams and players who are paid the minimum wage for life in poor conditions in the second teams. Most of them keep quiet and follow the club's wishes because they continue to live their lives as players under a one-year contract with the club. This is not 1983, but 2025. It is a time when various types of special employment, including platform work, are recognized. In accordance with the circumstances of the times, a social discussion on the nature of professional baseball players under the Labor Union Act is needed.