3.5 million won, 6.7 million won.
For foreign workers, this is money they must rely on for their livelihood, but for employers, was it a "manageable" amount that allowed them to evade responsibility for several months?
However, the Cheonan Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor pursued every instance of wage arrears to the end. Ultimately, by tracking employers in real-time, they apprehended them, and the unpaid wages were returned to the workers.

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How Did the Incident Occur?

The Cheonan Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor confirmed that Mr. A, a foreign national and business owner of Vietnamese nationality, had absconded for over seven months after failing to pay 3.5 million won in wages to foreign workers.
The investigation revealed that Mr. A evaded his obligation by not responding to summons for appearances. Consequently, the Ministry of Employment and Labor initiated real-time location tracking and apprehended Mr. A in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. After paying the withheld wages, Mr. A was handed over to the immigration office due to his illegal stay status. Around the same time, another employer, Mr. B, also evaded capture for seven months after failing to pay 6.7 million won in wages but was apprehended in an operation at a business site within Cheonan city. In this case as well, all outstanding wages were settled.

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Recurring Wage Arrears, Recurring Responses

These cases are just a few examples. The Cheonan Branch has previously apprehended employers for minor wage arrears, such as 2.4 million won and 1.2 million won, through real-time tracking.
The director of the branch personally visited five workplaces with high-value or numerous wage arrears, recovering a total of 1.7 billion won in wages and returning rightful compensation to 204 workers. The Ministry of Employment and Labor's response goes beyond mere enforcement; it sends a strong warning message regarding structural issues.
In particular, with an increasing number of cases where employers exploit the vulnerability of foreign workers, who may be hesitant to report due to their residency status, proactive government intervention is being further emphasized.

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"Wage Arrears Threaten Livelihoods and Constitute Serious Criminal Offenses"

Cheonan Branch Director Choi Jong-soo stated, "Wage arrears are serious crimes that threaten livelihoods," and added,
"We will strictly enforce measures against employers who fail to comply with summons without justifiable reason or intentionally withhold wages, including issuing arrest warrants and pursuing compulsory investigations as a principle." Indeed, these apprehensions are being recognized not merely as the detection of rule violations but as the "fulfillment of responsibility" by the government to protect workers' right to survival.

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Experts point out the urgent need for the following systemic improvements:
First, the surveillance system for wage arrears targeting foreign workers needs to be strengthened.
Second, the standards for criminal penalties against employers who commit wage arrears must be clarified to prevent intentional evasion from the outset.
Third, real-time response capabilities should be enhanced through information linkage between immigration and employment and labor administration.

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Numerous foreign workers who cannot send money back to their home countries or afford medical expenses due to not receiving their wages.
In this case, we can clearly see the message that their rights must be protected within the framework of the law.
For the simple principle that "wages must be paid for labor" to function as reality in Korean society, such decisive enforcement must continue.