Labor ministry starts fifth inspection of wage-system misuse in Daejeon and Cheongju

The labor ministry said Friday it will begin its fifth regional inspection of knowledge-service businesses in Daejeon and Cheongju, citing the highest detection rate for unpaid overtime-related allowances in an earlier campaign and continuing anonymous reports.

Starting Aug. 21, the inspection will target IT, research and development, and other knowledge-service employers. The regional relay campaign began May 14, with previous rounds covering Seoul's Guro and Gasan Digital Complex, Seongnam's Pangyo Techno Valley, Changwon National Industrial Complex and financial businesses in Seoul's Jung and Yeongdeungpo districts.

Anonymous reports concerning knowledge-service businesses in Daejeon and Cheongju continued after the first campaign, the ministry said. They included allegations that employers had reduced or withheld holiday-work pay or compensatory leave despite being able to measure work hours, and that fixed-overtime employers paid no additional allowance for weekday overtime and recognized only part of holiday work.

"We plan to eradicate improper labor practices through repeated inspections of areas and industries suspected of misusing comprehensive wage arrangements, and will continue guidance and supervision so that a workplace culture where people are properly compensated for their work can take root," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said.

A two-month nationwide inspection beginning in February examined 101 workplaces suspected of misuse. It found 79 using comprehensive wage arrangements; 34 had failed to pay allowances for overtime, holiday or night work. Six of the noncompliant businesses were in the Daejeon labor office's jurisdiction, including two each in Daejeon and Cheongju. Five of the six worked in knowledge-service fields.

At one software development and supply company, 14 workers were owed a combined 25 million won beyond their fixed overtime allowances because the firm did not verify actual hours. A research and development company owed one worker 13 million won beyond fixed overtime and did not state how overtime pay was calculated on the employee's wage statement.