"Unpaid Wages, Antisocial Crimes... Zero Tolerance for Habitual Cases"

CEO Kim Ki-hyun Visits Seoul Employment and Labor Office
Ministry of Employment to Operate 'Intensive Guidance Period' for 4 Weeks

Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, urged strong measures against wage arrears as part of his pre-Chuseok efforts to address public livelihood issues. Kim described wage arrears as a "criminal act" and called for a zero-tolerance policy toward habitual offenders.

On the afternoon of the 4th, Kim visited the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office and held an on-site meeting to prepare countermeasures against wage arrears ahead of the Chuseok holiday. From the party, Park Dae-chul, chairman of the Policy Committee, and Im Eui-ja, the secretary of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, attended. From the government side, Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, and Lee Jeong-han, Director-General of the Labor Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, were present.

At the meeting, Kim said, "Workers should receive payment commensurate with their work, and it must be paid on time. Isn’t that the fundamental principle of fair compensation for labor?" He added, "In some cases, malicious employers might think, 'It’s okay to withhold a little wage,' or 'We can just hide and get away with it.' Such cases must be strictly punished. If wage arrears lead to such malicious business practices, it is a serious criminal act."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s operation of a four-week intensive guidance period to clear and prevent wage arrears, Kim requested, "Wage arrears are especially prevalent in small-scale manufacturing sites and construction companies, so please ensure thorough prevention efforts in these vulnerable workplaces." He continued, "For habitual malicious cases, I ask that you respond thoroughly and firmly based on the principle of zero tolerance."

Minister Lee Jeong-sik responded, "As Leader Kim emphasized, wage arrears can be considered an antisocial crime," adding, "It undermines the value of labor and can be seen as an addiction to withholding wages. We will use this opportunity to eradicate it completely."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will implement measures to prevent and promptly resolve wage arrears starting today. The plan includes visiting over 500 construction sites nationwide to guide early execution and operating an emergency response system for four weeks to clear arrears, focusing on preventing and resolving the increasing wage arrears in the construction industry.

During the meeting, the ruling party and government also heard directly from labor inspectors under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Inspector Kim Jae-won said, "In practice, many employers perceive wage arrears as 'not a big deal' because penalties are weak," and suggested, "Although plans to enhance the system’s effectiveness by actively using detention investigations and arrest warrants have been announced, the severity of punishments must increase, and strong sanctions must follow."

In response, Deputy Minister Lee Seong-hee said, "We are focusing on resolving wage arrears before punishment by utilizing simplified advance payments and loan programs for employers with wage arrears," but added, "For employers who repeatedly and intentionally withhold wages despite these measures, we plan to focus on firm judicial action to create a social norm that 'wage arrears lead to ruin.'"

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