"4 out of 10 Office Workers Experience Wage Arrears... 40% Give Up on Taking Action"

Jikjang Gapjil 119, Survey of 1,000 Employees
'38% Did Not Respond Due to Fear of Personnel Disadvantages'

Four out of ten office workers have experienced wage arrears, and among them, 40% gave up on taking action, according to a survey.

On the 1st, the civic group Workplace Bullying 119 announced the results of a survey conducted by the public opinion research firm Global Research from the 2nd to the 10th of last month. The survey targeted 1,000 office workers nationwide aged 19 and older. The results showed that 39.4% of respondents had experienced wage arrears. The survey has a 95% confidence level with a sampling error of ±3.1%P.

Wage Arrears. Getty Images

The most common types of wage arrears were basic salary (27.8%) and overtime, night, and holiday work allowances (27%). Most office workers who experienced wage arrears did not actively respond. Nearly half, 41.9%, gave up on taking action by either quitting the company (25.1%) or pretending not to know (16.8%). The main reason for not responding was fear of personnel disadvantages (38%). The next most common reason, at 27.8%, was the belief that even if they took action, they would not receive the unpaid wages.

When participants were asked why wage arrears occur in Korean society, 65.7% overwhelmingly answered that it is because "employers are not properly punished." The response "because employers lack capability" accounted for 26.4%.

Increasing Support for 'Abolishing the Crime of Conditional Prosecution'

As a measure to improve wage arrears, the most common response (55.5%) was the abolition of the 'crime of conditional prosecution,' which means employers should be punished regardless of whether the parties reach an agreement after a report. Support for abolishing the crime of conditional prosecution increased by 7.6%P over the past year.

Meanwhile, the amended Labor Standards Act, which will take effect in October next year, stipulates that employers who repeatedly delay wages will be punished regardless of whether an agreement is reached. However, Workplace Bullying 119 pointed out that the conditions for applying the amendment are strict, such as requiring the employer to have been punished at least twice within three years for wage arrears.

Jo Ju-hee, a labor attorney at the organization, emphasized, "There are concerns about whether this will be an effective measure, and since the statute of limitations for wage claims has not been extended, the scope of protection for affected workers has not expanded," adding, "The amendment should be supplemented to establish an effective solution for wage arrears."