Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Reports No Outstanding Payments at All 2,854 Construction Sites of Affiliated Agencies

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 28th that, following a thorough inspection of unpaid wages at construction sites under its jurisdiction (7 affiliated agencies) and subordinate organizations (6 agencies) ahead of Chuseok, no unpaid amounts were found for subcontract payments, machinery payments, wages, or other categories.

This year's Chuseok unpaid wage inspection was conducted from September 1 to 11 across 2,854 construction sites managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s affiliated and subordinate organizations, including the National Land Management Office, LH, and the Korea Expressway Corporation.

While the unpaid amount during Chuseok in 2017 was approximately 10.9 billion KRW, no cases have been reported since Chuseok 2018.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has regularly conducted unpaid wage inspections ahead of Lunar New Year and Chuseok annually and encouraged the resolution of unpaid wages before the holidays.

In particular, visible results have been reported from the public client wage direct payment system implemented since June last year. This wage direct payment system uses an electronic payment system that prevents construction companies from withdrawing wages and subcontract payments, allowing only transfers to workers’ accounts.

Additionally, the Ministry plans to implement within this year a function that allows clients to pay directly to material and equipment suppliers rather than to the primary or subcontractors, applying this system to all sites starting January next year.

The Korea Rail Network Authority’s system will also undergo pilot application starting in October, with improvements to be completed within the year. From next year, the improved payment system will be applied to all public institutions.

Kim Kwang-rim, Director of the Construction Industry Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, “Wage arrears at construction sites have been a vulnerable area in the construction industry, threatening the livelihoods of construction workers, many of whom are non-regular or daily workers. We will take the lead in the public sector to establish a culture of wage arrears eradication on-site and further expand it to the private sector.”