Hotel Owner Cheats 139 Young Workers in Their 20s and 30s Out of 400 Million Won in Wages

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] A business owner operating a hotel in Jeju was caught by authorities after withholding wages totaling over 410 million won from about 100 young workers in their 20s and 30s.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 1st the results of a special labor inspection of the wage arrears workplace, 'Jeju Slim Hotel.' According to the ministry, the business owner, Mr. A, operates a total of six business sites, including tenant companies.

It was investigated that Mr. A withheld wages amounting to over 410 million won from 139 workers who worked at these business sites over the past three years. Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s, and some were teenagers under 20. When the victims reported the wage arrears to the ministry, Mr. A showed an irresponsible attitude by urging them to withdraw the report rather than paying the overdue wages.

Mr. A also resisted by telling some victims to "apply for small amount wage claims." The small amount wage claim system is a government program that pays wages up to 10 million won on behalf of the employer when retired workers have not received their wages, and then recovers the amount from the employer. In addition, Mr. A was found to have violated multiple labor laws, including failure to provide written labor conditions and restrictions on night work for female workers.

The ministry pointed out that Mr. A "caused social controversy by repeatedly and habitually withholding wages, mainly targeting young workers."

The ministry plans to send Mr. A's case to the prosecution and impose fines for some illegal matters.

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