Labor ministry recovers 10.5 billion won in unpaid wages ahead of Chuseok

The labor ministry said Tuesday it identified 10.5 billion won in unpaid wages across 7,079 workplaces during a crackdown leading up to the Chuseok holiday. Officials conducted on-site guidance from September 1 through September 21 to clear the arrears before the festival.

Heads of local labor offices personally visited 59 sites involving large-scale defaults to direct settlement efforts. Resolved cases include 270 million won owed to 63 construction workers in Icheon, 170 million won due to 42 employees at a cosmetics manufacturer in Seoul, and 67 million won for 44 hospital workers in Jangheung.

Minister Kim Young-hoon called unpaid wages a serious social problem that affects not only individual livelihoods but also the regional economy. "We will do our best to rescue even one more victim of unpaid wages so that all workers can have a warm Chuseok holiday," he said.

To support businesses facing financial difficulties, the agency is guiding owners to utilize loan programs for wage settlement. Where employers cannot pay directly, the government offers advance payments and low-interest livelihood loans capped at 10 million won per worker.

As part of these measures, the processing period for simplified advance payments has been shortened from 14 days to seven until October 31. The interest rate on livelihood loans for affected workers was simultaneously reduced from 1.5 percent to 1.0 percent.