Employers’ reluctance to pay foreigners’ salaries is a growing concern in South Korea

Employed by a restaurant owner who promised to pay her on the first Tuesday of every month, the 23-year-old worked diligently for KRW 10,500 ($7.6) an hour. But after three months, her pay suddenly stopped working.

“My boss withheld my salary and accused me of violating the restaurant’s regulations, even though nothing was clearly stated in the contract,” he says. VnExpress International.

Despite her repeated requests, he refused to pay and threatened to report her to the school. After months of delay, he added a new demand: she would only pay if she provided ID for her tax returns, a requirement she knew didn’t apply to her minimum wage.

At the encouragement of the school and legal counsel, Tra filed a complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Under threat of a fine of KRW 7 million, the employer agreed to pay part of her salary.

However, after the incident, Tra was traumatized and was hesitant to look for a job. “It was an extremely stressful experience. The only thing I felt was exhaustion, even after I got my money back.”

It’s a story with which foreign workers in South Korea are increasingly familiar.

The country is struggling with record levels of wage arrears this year, significantly affecting foreign workers.

In the first seven months alone, unpaid wages to foreign workers were worth nearly 70 billion won ($50.4 million). Korean Bizwire reported.

Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor obtained by lawmaker Kim Wi-sang of the People’s Power Party showed that 14,913 foreigners working for 4,124 enterprises did not receive full wages during this period.

Over the past five years, foreign workers have had unpaid wages amounting to 120 billion won annually. Small businesses are the main culprits, as 90% of unpaid wages are generated by companies with fewer than 30 employees.

Kim emphasized the seriousness of the situation, saying: “Wage arrears are a serious crime against people’s livelihoods, ruining the lives of workers. Foreign workers should be protected by the same standards as domestic workers.”

Nepalese Hari Shrestha, 33, worked 12-hour shifts six days a week at a small textile factory for almost three years for a monthly salary of about $2,350, which he did not receive regularly, according to The New York Times.

“They never paid me on time or in full,” he says, showing the contract his former employer signed with him, promising to pay part of the outstanding salary.

One of the main reasons employers cheat expat workers is their inability to change jobs except under certain circumstances.

Even in cases of unpaid wages or safety violations, employees often cannot leave unless the employer agrees to release them from their contract. If they cannot obtain official permission to change jobs, they become undocumented foreigners.

“We have seen cases where employers did not pay their workers and threatened to report them for desertion and have them deported,” said Choi Jeong-gyu, a lawyer at the Wongok law firm. Hankyoreh. “These employers are also lying to their employees, saying that if they do not report outstanding payments, they will help them return to their country by recommending them as loyal employees.”

A survey conducted earlier this year by the Korea National Human Rights Commission found that nearly 80% of respondents said they had filed complaints with relevant agencies over unpaid wages but faced difficulties due to language barriers and lack of understanding of labor law. 379 employees abroad took part in the study.

The Commission proposed solutions to the problem of wage arrears, such as increasing the number of help centers for foreign workers and penalizing employers who do not pay wages.

The Labor Standards Act provides for three years in prison or fines of up to 30 million won for employers who fail to pay wages on time. However, cases rarely go to court, and the average fine imposed is only about two million won.

Even if workers report unpaid wages to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the review and resolution process can take months. The average period needed to remedy such violations is four years and 10 months.

“The Ministry of Labor needs to change the rules so that foreign workers can change jobs if their employer refuses to pay them wages,” Choi says. “This will enable them to earn money elsewhere while avoiding the additional suffering of an abusive employer.”

Former Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik and Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said that timely payment of wages is a basic right of workers. They pledged to crack down on “malicious” employers through tough measures such as detention, even while under investigation.

However, the lure of higher incomes at home means that more than 300,000 low-skilled workers are in the country on temporary work visas.

Sammer Chhetri, 30, arrived in South Korea in 2022 and is sending $1,500 of his $1,750 monthly salary to his family in Nepal. Chhetri, who works from dawn to dusk in long tunnel-shaped greenhouses, says: “You can’t make that kind of money in Nepal.”

Another Nepali worker, Hari Shrestha, 33, says his earnings at a South Korean furniture factory helped his family build a house.

For other young people like Tra, the benefits of working in South Korea outweigh the problems.

“I still want to work South Korea after graduation,” he says. “The salary will be better and I will have more opportunities to advance my career.”