Labor ministry uncovers W10.54b in unpaid wages ahead of Chuseok

The Ministry of Employment and Labor inspected 7,079 workplaces ahead of the Chuseok holiday and uncovered more than 10.54 billion won ($7.61 million) in unpaid wages. Regional office heads personally visited workplaces with large arrears or a high number of affected workers to press for settlement.

The ministry said Tuesday that inspections conducted through its 49 regional offices from Sept. 1 to Monday — covering 7,079 workplaces in construction and other industries — found a total of 10.54 billion won in unpaid wages.

At 59 workplaces where large sums were owed or many workers were affected, regional office heads made direct visits to guide employers toward clearing the arrears.

At a construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, wages totaling 270 million won owed to 63 workers were confirmed unpaid. A cosmetics manufacturer in Mapo-gu, Seoul, was found to have failed to pay 42 workers a combined 170 million won on time.

The ministry directed financially struggling employers to use a government loan program designed to help businesses clear wage arrears. Where employers cannot settle on their own, workers can receive their unpaid wages through advance payment schemes and living-expense loans extended to affected employees.

Under a Chuseok livelihood stabilization package, the processing period for expedited advance payments has been shortened from 14 days to seven days, effective Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. The interest rate on living-expense loans for workers with unpaid wages has also been temporarily reduced from 1.5 to 1.0 percent per year.

"Wage theft is a serious social problem that harms not only the livelihoods of individual workers and their families but also local economies," Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. "We will do our utmost — with the resolve to help even one more victim — so that workers can enjoy a warm Chuseok holiday."