'Arisel Disaster' Dispatched Workers Fail to Receive 25 Million Won in Wages

277 People Owed for Overtime Pay and Severance Pay

It has been confirmed that dispatched workers who worked at Arisel, a battery company in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where a fire disaster occurred last June, did not receive approximately 25 million won in wages, including overtime pay, on time.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 6th that during the investigation into whether Arisel violated labor-related laws such as illegal dispatch, unpaid wages were confirmed, and last month, correction orders were issued to Arisel, the manpower supply company Meisel, and Meisel's predecessor Hanshin Dia.

On the 5th, Arisel completed payment of about 4.2 million won in unpaid wages to 44 directly employed workers, but the unpaid amounts for workers belonging to Hanshin Dia and Meisel have not yet been paid. The total unpaid amount is 25.64 million won, including overtime pay, unused annual leave pay, suspension pay, and severance pay.

The affected workers total 277, including 194 who worked at Arisel under Hanshin Dia since 2021 and 83 under Meisel, which changed its name last April. Workers who died in the fire disaster are also included among the affected workers.

On June 25th, at the lithium battery factory fire site in Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, officials from the police, fire department, National Forensic Service, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency are seen moving for a joint inspection to determine the cause of the fire. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has instructed Hanshin Dia and Meisel to pay the unpaid wages and other allowances by the 12th. The ministry stated, "We are actively guiding to ensure compliance within the correction period, and if not fulfilled, we plan to proceed with procedures according to relevant laws for prompt liquidation."

The ministry explained that if the unpaid wages are not settled within the deadline, it will investigate the reasons for the failure and proceed with additional correction orders and judicial procedures.

After a fire broke out at the Arisel factory on the 24th of last month, killing 23 workers and injuring 8, the police and labor authorities are investigating charges such as occupational manslaughter, violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act, and illegal dispatch.