Anchor
Chuseok holiday, one of the biggest Korean traditional holidays, on which people normally spend more preparing special food and gifts for family and friends is just around the corner.
However, more than 2,000 workers have not received their payment in due time. The overdue wages exceed 10 billion won in total.
Todd Thacker reports.
KCTV: Overdue Wage Cases Increasing
"곧 추석인데"…늘어나는 체불임금

Anchor
Chuseok holiday, one of the biggest Korean traditional holidays, on which people normally spend more preparing special food and gifts for family and friends is just around the corner.
However, more than 2,000 workers have not received their payment in due time. The overdue wages exceed 10 billion won in total.
Todd Thacker reports.

Report
Mr. Choi was laid off three months ago. He is 60.
Not only did the employer fail to pay his wage, but also failed to report his employment status to the labor authorities. This leaves him in limbo, since he cannot apply to receive unemployment benefits.
Mr. Choi is seeking help from the Jeju office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

INTERVIEW
Worker
I was laid off by the company. But they reported that I voluntarily quit my job. My life is so hard.
<인터뷰 :근로자>
"그만두라고 해서 그만둔 건데 해고를 한 거죠. 그런데 나중에는 내가 자발적으로 그만뒀다고…. 지금 뭐 암담하죠."

[slug] Jeju Employment Office sees over 50 overdue wage cases daily
More than 50 people visit the labor office every day to seek help receiving their overdue wages.
The number of such cases is growing every year.


As of the end of July, some 2,200 Jeju workers reported not being paid in a timely manner.
The total amount of overdue payments exceeds 11.2 billion won. That's a 2.4 billion won increase from last year.


Overdue Wages (KRW)
8.7B   2.4B↑   11.2B 
July, 2018  July, 2019

2,200 cases of unpaid wages



[slug] \810M in unpaid overdue wages as of July
Of that 11.2 billion won total, around 810 million won in overdue wages have yet to be paid.
Broken down by industry, statistics from the Ministry of Employment and Labor indicate that the service industry, which includes financial, real estate, and building maintenance services, has had the worst record this year.
Cases of overdue payments to employees in the service industry account for 34 percent of the total.
The construction industry came next at 26 percent, while wholesale, retail, restaurant, and lodging businesses accounted for 24 percent of this year’s caseload.



Overdue Wages by Industry
Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor

Service industry, including financial / real estate 34%
Construction 26%
Retail, restaurant, lodging 24%
Other


The Labor Ministry says that companies in those industries are struggling to cope with weak domestic demand, thereby playing a role in deteriorating working conditions.

[Reporter] Todd Thacker
[Camera] Park Byeong-june
[CG] So Gi-hun

The right of workers to be compensated in a fair and timely manner is an issue that affects us all. With the Chuseok holiday fast approaching, it’s unfortunate to see so many islanders facing an uncertain future.

Todd Thacker, KCTV