101 Billion KRW Wage Arrears Detected in 31 Companies... 17 Companies Legally Prosecuted

Ministry of Employment Plans Supervision of Unpaid Wages
Additional Operation of Anonymous Wage Arrears Reporting Center

Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, is delivering a greeting at a meeting held on the 7th at the Seoul Regional Labor Office in Jung-gu, Seoul, aimed at eradicating workplace harassment. The meeting was attended by organizations including regional financial institutions such as NongHyup and Suhyup, the Korea Hospital Association, the Korea Kindergarten Association, and the Korea HR Service Industry Association. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The government conducted a planned inspection on wage arrears based on anonymous reports from current employees, uncovering a total of 10.1 billion KRW in unpaid wages.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the results after conducting surprise inspections on 37 workplaces that reported wage arrears during a three-week period from December 11 to the end of December last year, based on anonymous tips received.

As a result of the labor inspection, wage and various allowance arrears for 1,845 workers were detected in 31 out of the 37 workplaces inspected. The total amount of unpaid wages reached 10.1 billion KRW, including 8.8 billion KRW in wages, 700 million KRW in overtime pay, 100 million KRW in unused annual leave allowances, and 400 million KRW in severance pay.

Among these, 17 companies with intentional and habitual wage arrears were subject to legal action. For 15 companies without intentional arrears due to ignorance of laws, calculation errors, or temporary business downturns, corrective orders were issued, and plans for clearing arrears were received and will be monitored for compliance.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "Of the total unpaid amount, 5.1 billion KRW in wages owed to 940 workers at 14 companies was fully cleared during the labor inspection period through guidance."

In addition to wage arrears, numerous violations of basic labor standards were detected, including excessive working hours beyond overtime limits, discrimination against dispatched workers, and failure to prepare employment contracts, with legal actions completed accordingly.

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik stated, "Illegal acts that disregard the rightful compensation for labor must be eradicated," and added, "We will further strengthen labor inspections to ensure that no current workers suffer from wage arrears."