“Migrant Worker Groups Call for Stringent Measures as Unpaid Wages Hit 121.5 Billion Won Last Year”

…Migrant worker rights organizations have urged the government to implement robust measures to address the persistent issue of unpaid wages, citing data obtained from the Ministry of Employment and Labor that revealed unpaid salaries for migrant workers reached a staggering 121.5 billion won in 2022.

In a joint statement released on Saturday, a number of civic groups collectively known as the Migrant Workers’ Equality Coalition highlighted the alarming trend of rapidly increasing unpaid wages over the past five years…

According to the “Status of Unpaid Wages for Domestic and Foreign Workers” data provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to the coalition through a freedom of information request, the total number of workers who reported unpaid wages was 275,432, of which 27,155 (9.86%) were foreign workers.

Citing data from Statistics Korea, the groups noted that while migrant workers account for 4.2% (923,000 as of May 2023) of the total 21,954,000 employed workers (as of August 2023), they were twice as likely to experience unpaid wages compared to domestic workers…

The coalition pointed out that employers often exploit migrant workers’ unfamiliarity with the language and legal systems, assuming they will be hesitant to raise concerns…