As of 2019, there were 344,977 workers with unpaid wages of 1.7217 trillion won, which is very concerning. In particular, a systematic improvement is needed to reduce unpaid wages, which have been firmly established as a seemingly normal practice in industrial workplaces in Korea.

Details

A. Prescribe that employers shall be required to pay interest on delayed and unpaid wages to current workers (Article 37)

B. Disclose a list of employers with huge and frequent unpaid wages and expand the scope of those subject to credit restrictions (Articles 43-2 and 43-3)

C. Allow the Minister of Employment and Labor to request the National Health Insurance Service to provide information on the number of full-time employees and unpaid amounts in the business which fails to pay insurance premiums on time, and require the National Health Insurance Service to accept such request if there is no other justifiable reason (Article 43-4 newly inserted)

D. Prepare the basis to claim punitive damages so that the employee can seek up to 3 times his or her unpaid wages from the employer if the employer habitually fails to pay wages (Article 43-5 newly inserted)

E. Prepare the basis to disclose the amount of a business owner’s unpaid wages and violations if employment supervision finds that the business owner has violated any applicable labor laws (Article 102-2 newly inserted)

Disclose the list of employers with huge and frequent unpaid wages and expand the scope of those subject to credit restrictions (Articles 43-2 and 43-3).