Labor Ministry launches special inspection of all-in pay abuses in Seoul's financial district

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched a special inspection targeting financial firms and financial call centers in Seoul's Jung-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu over the misuse of all-in wage arrangements. The crackdown is the second relay inspection conducted in Seoul, following one in the Guro and Gasan Digital Complex in May, and the ministry said it will continue repeat inspections in areas where anonymous tips are concentrated.

The fourth round of the ministry's regional relay inspection — covering workplaces in the financial and related service industries in Jung-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu — began Monday. The inspection is part of an ongoing series that started in May, focusing on businesses reported through the ministry's anonymous tip center for all-in pay and fixed overtime abuses, as well as companies suspected of violating labor law.

The ministry said it will pay particular attention to financial firms and financial call centers, which have recently seen a surge in anonymous reports. Inspectors will examine whether managers are failing to track working hours, whether night-shift allowances are going unpaid, whether the method for calculating overtime and holiday pay is being disclosed, whether wage structures improperly bundle base pay and allowances together, and whether legal limits on overtime hours are being exceeded.

The inspection follows persistent anonymous reports from the Seoul area even after the first-round inspection of the Guro and Gasan Digital Complex. The ministry said it will conduct additional inspections in areas where tips continue to come in, with the aim of eradicating the misuse of all-in wage arrangements.

In the first-round inspection, labor law violations were found at all seven workplaces examined. One computer systems integration firm withheld 3.7 million won ($2,490) in overtime pay owed to 18 workers by paying only fixed overtime allowances without recording or tracking actual working hours. A laundry business exceeded the legal overtime limit on 412 separate occasions and failed to pay 42 million won in annual leave allowances to 51 workers.

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said the ministry plans to "eradicate illegal labor practices through repeat inspections in areas where tips to the anonymous reporting center keep coming in." He added that inspectors would closely examine how allowances are calculated and paid across Jung-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu — the heart of South Korea's financial industry — and that guidance and oversight would continue "until a commonsense workplace culture takes hold, where workers are fairly compensated for every hour they put in."