"No Tolerance for Habitual Wage Arrears"...New 'Re-Inspection' Category Added to This Year's Labor Supervision

Ministry of Employment, 2024 Comprehensive Labor Inspection Plan
Special Inspections for Wage Arrears Over 50 People or 1 Billion KRW
Planned Inspections Targeting Blind Spots Such as Professional Sports Teams and Gyms

The government has decided to strengthen the labor inspection system for companies with habitual wage arrears this year. It also plans to conduct targeted inspections in blind spots that have been neglected so far, such as sports teams and fitness centers.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the '2024 Comprehensive Labor Inspection Plan' containing these details and stated, "We will respond strictly with a zero-tolerance policy toward intentional and habitual wage arrears." According to the ministry, the amount of wage arrears last year reached a record high of 1.7845 trillion won, a 32.5% increase compared to the previous year.

Accordingly, the ministry plans to conduct special labor inspections on workplaces with high amounts and large numbers of arrears, specifically those with more than 50 affected workers and arrears exceeding 1 billion won, and to strengthen cooperation among related ministries for a government-wide and systematic response.

For current workers, who find it difficult to report arrears unlike retirees, the ministry is conducting targeted inspections based on anonymous reports for the first time. By the end of last year, 165 anonymous reports had been received, leading to the start of targeted inspections last month. Labor inspections will also be intensified for workplaces with many reports.

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik (second from left) is attending a meeting for the Youth Disabled Work Experience Program held on the 23rd at Korea Festo in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and is touring the site with company officials including CEO Thomas Lekki (left). Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

This year's comprehensive labor inspection plan also includes the introduction of a new 're-inspection' type in addition to the existing regular, occasional, and special labor inspections. If a workplace that has received corrective orders through labor inspections is reported again, a re-inspection will be conducted.

This aims to prevent employers who have been inspected once from becoming complacent and violating the law again. If intentional or habitual legal violations or infringements on workers' health rights or human rights are confirmed during the re-inspection, the ministry plans to proceed immediately with judicial action or impose fines instead of issuing corrective orders.

Furthermore, a 'focused targeted inspection in four areas for improving work culture' will be conducted. Targeted inspections will be carried out throughout the year in sectors such as IT, platforms, and large hospitals, where many young workers are employed and labor management may be weak. The ministry also set a goal to minimize blind spots by conducting relay targeted inspections focusing on industries and sectors that have been neglected so far, such as sports teams and fitness centers.

Small businesses with fewer than 30 employees will strengthen preventive activities in cooperation with private organizations, focusing on six vulnerable areas. These six vulnerable areas include youth, women, foreigners, construction sites (joint industrial safety), elderly workers, and industries employing many people with disabilities. For companies with 30 or more employees, the regular inspections that were previously conducted separately by class and sector will be expanded and reorganized into 'comprehensive preventive checks' to provide comprehensive prevention and consulting focused on voluntary improvement.

Minister Lee Jeong-sik said, "It is very important to protect the vulnerable and create a fair workplace through strict labor inspections so that labor law and order can take root in the field," adding, "We will promote labor inspections based on law and principles that consider the vulnerable and that the public can feel."

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