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| ▲ This file image shows Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik (R) and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon. (Yonhap) |
overdue wages-campaign
Gov't warns of 'stern response' as overdue wages soar to over 1.1 tln won
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- The government warned Monday it will sternly deal with employers habitually delaying paying wages to employees as the amount of unpaid wages grew nearly 30 percent from last year.
The warning was voiced jointly by Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon as the amount of wages in arrears had soared to 1.14 trillion won (US$854.3 million) as of end-August, up 29.7 percent from a year earlier, affecting some 180,000 employees.
A total of nine employers had been arrested over delayed wage payment during the first eight months of this year, while 1,653 people had been indicted, up threefold and 1.5-fold from the same period last year, respectively.
"It's common sense for employees to be paid wages on time for the work they have done, and delaying wage payment in breach of this constitutes an anti-social crime that fundamentally impairs the value of labor," the ministers said in their joint statement.
The ministers warned the government will respond with stern measures, such as investigation under detention, to "malicious" employers accused of stashing assets while delaying the payment of due wages to employers.
"Employers accused of intentionally delaying the payment of even a small amount of wage will be formally indicted so as to overturn the faulty mentality that 'paying a fine would easily settle the matter,'" the ministers said.
They also pledged to step up cooperation between their ministries to root out wage payment delays and to more thoroughly inspect industrial sites for overdue wages, especially among construction workers or immigrant employees who are particularly susceptible.
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