All 79 unlicensed labor dispatch violations last year traced to in-house subcontracting

All 79 unlicensed labor dispatch violations detected last year occurred at in-house subcontracting sites, data show. The cases involved companies using subcontracting arrangements on paper while in practice dispatching workers without the required license. Complaints alleging illegal dispatch and disguised subcontracting have also surged, nearly tripling over three years.

According to data submitted to the Ministry of Employment and Labor by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Hae-cheol of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, all 79 violations of Article 7 of the Dispatch Act detected last year — involving unlicensed labor dispatch — arose from in-house subcontracting arrangements.

Unlicensed dispatch has been the most frequently detected type of Dispatch Act violation over the past three years, with 80 cases in 2023, 71 in 2024 and 79 last year. The figures have fueled calls for stronger oversight targeting disguised subcontracting and unlicensed dispatch at in-house subcontracting sites.

Violations involving the scope and duration of permitted dispatch work also continued. Cases detected under Articles 5 and 6 of the Dispatch Act numbered 63 in 2023, 54 in 2024 and 47 last year.

The number of workers filing complaints with labor offices over illegal dispatch and disguised subcontracting has also risen steadily — from 108 in 2022 to 124 in 2023, 193 in 2024 and 292 last year, a 170.4 percent increase over three years and 2.7 times the 2022 figure.

This year, 174 cases had already been filed through the end of June, meaning the first half alone accounted for 59.6 percent of last year's full-year total.

Park said enforcement outcomes have not kept pace with the rising caseload. Last year, authorities recorded 14 corrective completions and one administrative disposition, with no fines imposed. In the first half of this year, only two corrective completions were recorded, with no fines or administrative dispositions.

Indictment figures in the data stood at 41 cases in 2024, 54 last year and 12 in the first half of this year. Park's office calculated indictment-to-complaint ratios of 21.2 percent, 18.5 percent and 6.9 percent for those respective periods, though it cautioned that the figures may not reflect actual indictment rates for cases filed in the same period, as the counting periods for complaints received and cases processed may not align.

"Many workers are knocking on the doors of labor offices to escape the trap of exploitation by middlemen," Park said. "Particularly given how widespread unlicensed dispatch through in-house subcontracting has become, the Ministry of Employment and Labor must step up thorough oversight and strict legal action to stamp out disguised subcontracting and unlicensed dispatch."