Operation of 'Focused Guidance Period for Prevention and Settlement of Delays in Payment' until the 27th of next month
Proactive delay prevention activities for vulnerable industries underway
The government will intensify management and supervision of wage arrears ahead of the Chuseok holiday. It plans to conduct surprise inspections on workplaces suspected of habitual and intentional wage arrears and respond strictly.
On the 31st, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it will implement the 'Wage Arrears Prevention and Early Settlement Measures,' including operating a 'Wage Arrears Prevention and Settlement Intensive Guidance Period' from October 4 to 27.
An official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "This measure is characterized by applying strict judicial principles against employers who habitually and intentionally delay wages, along with on-site preventive activities focusing on vulnerable industries such as construction, considering the recent increase in wage arrears due to internal and external economic factors."
First, as wage arrears have increased mainly in the construction industry due to the housing market slump, rising raw material prices leading to increased construction costs, and interest rate hikes, the ministry will carry out proactive wage arrears prevention activities targeting vulnerable industries such as construction. In fact, the proportion of wage arrears in the construction industry rose from 21.7% in 2022 to 23.9% in the first half of this year.
Accordingly, during the intensive guidance period, labor inspectors will directly visit about 500 construction sites to guide timely (early) execution of progress payments and focus on checking for wage arrears caused by illegal subcontracting. Additionally, the ministry will operate 'On-site Prevention Inspection Days' mainly targeting small-scale manufacturing industries where wage arrears frequently occur, focusing on guiding compliance with basic labor order such as wage arrears prevention.
The ministry plans to conduct nationwide surprise planned inspections on workplaces suspected of habitual and intentional wage arrears without prior notice, and if violations such as wage arrears are confirmed, immediate judicial action will be taken. By strengthening investigations into asset relations, malicious employers who conceal or privately misuse assets will be subject to arrest and investigation, and if they fail to appear without justifiable reasons despite substantial wage arrears allegations, the ministry will actively request arrest warrants.
In addition, to ensure that affected workers can quickly receive lump-sum payments before Chuseok, the processing period will be temporarily shortened (September 4 to October 6) from 14 days to 7 days, and interest rates on livelihood loans for wage-arrears workers and support loans for employers settling wage arrears will also be temporarily reduced (September 11 to October 31).
Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik stated, "Wage arrears are illegal acts that must be eradicated as they undermine the value of labor," and added, "I have instructed the heads of 48 local employment and labor offices nationwide to make every effort to ensure that not a single worker in their jurisdiction suffers from wage arrears."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
