[2020 National Audit] "Golf Course Caddie Staff Reduction Report... Avoidance of 360 Million KRW in Industrial Accident Insurance Fees"

Jang Cheol-min, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Evidence has been found that the number of industrial accident insurance registrants reported to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service was underreported compared to the actual number of caddies working at over 20 golf courses.

On the 26th, Jang Cheol-min, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, compared the signature lists related to golf course caddie complaints from the Korea Golf Course Management Association with data on platform companies employing special-type workers (STWs) and industrial accident insurance premium amounts received from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. As a result, 947 caddie signatures from 20 golf courses were found to be unreported.

According to the industrial accident insurance premium data, 95% of registered golf course caddies applied for exemption from industrial accident coverage. However, when including caddies who were not reported as registrants, the scale of caddies outside the scope of industrial accident insurance is expected to be even larger.

Based on the 20 workplaces that submitted the signature lists, it was identified that these golf course employers have evaded a total annual industrial accident insurance premium of 358.75 million KRW, combining 190 million KRW in premiums not paid due to exemption applications despite registration, and 167.36 million KRW in premiums for 947 caddies who were never registered in the first place.

According to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, when an employer receives labor from STWs, they must report the worker's name, resident registration number, date of employment, address, and other details by the 15th of the following month.

If not reported, a fine of 50,000 KRW per unreported case is imposed. However, in the complaint documents from the Korea Golf Course Management Association, 947 unregistered caddies were found across more than 20 workplaces. A total fine of 47.35 million KRW can be imposed.

Assemblyman Jang Cheol-min stated, "If employers did not report registrants to avoid paying industrial accident insurance premiums, it is tantamount to maliciously depriving special-type workers of their safety protection network," and emphasized, "The government must take the lead in eradicating such practices through a full-scale investigation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.