The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) will conduct a full survey of wage arrears reports starting next month.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said on the 30th it will implement a "full survey of wage arrears reports" starting on the 1st of next month. Those surveyed are business sites with habitual arrears where arrears were confirmed three or more times during the year preceding Dec. 1. The ministry plans to gradually expand those surveyed, taking into account the timing of next year's increase in the number of labor inspectors.
The ministry will focus this full survey on actively identifying "hidden arrears." When a worker files a wage arrears case with a local office, the ministry plans to investigate not only that case but also whether other workers at the business sites suffered arrears. To do this, inspectors will be deployed directly to the field.
The ministry will also pilot a system for employers to voluntarily report their own wage arrears. When wage arrears occur, if the employer reports the arrears in person, by mail, or online, a labor inspector will confirm the unpaid amounts and provide guidance such as information on employer loan programs to clear the arrears.
After monitoring the effects of this voluntary reporting pilot, the government will consider institutionalizing it as a formal system.
Minister Kim Young-hoon said, "To resolve wage arrears that remain prevalent at industrial sites, we need a dramatic policy shift that departs from existing approaches," adding, "We will make this an opportunity to embed the view that there must never be a case of doing work and not getting paid."