Employer Arrested for Wage Arrears of 1.2 Billion Won Owed to 130 Workers

An employer who used corporate funds to pay off installments for luxury foreign cars while neglecting to pay workers' wages has been arrested.

On the 7th, the Tongyeong Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the arrest of a shipbuilding processor named A (50) in Gyeongsangnam-do's Goseong-gun for violating the Labor Standards Act and the Act on Guarantee of Employees' Retirement Benefits, owing a total of over 1.24 billion won in wages and severance pay for 130 workers.

Investigations revealed that A, who appeared to be a nominal representative, was in fact managing the company and misappropriated corporate funds received from the primary contractor for personal use.

Misappropriation for Personal Use

A transferred these funds to his mother and acquaintances and used them for his daughter's apartment purchase, loan repayments, and luxury car installments. Labor authorities determined that A had been in a position that could have sufficiently prevented the wage arrears but neglected to do so.

Repeated History of Wage Arrears Revealed

This was not the first instance of A failing to pay wages. A has a history of repeated wage arrears, with a record of five previous incidents of similar arrears and has been fined in the past.

Notably, A operated three corporations consecutively at the same location and did not pay 680 million won in wages to 204 workers.

At the time, A claimed that despite holding about 200 million won worth of stocks and virtual currencies, he could not settle the owed wages due to family obligations.

As of now, there have been a total of 71 cases reported against A, with the number of affected workers reaching 499.

The Tongyeong Branch applied for a pre-arrest warrant with the prosecution on the 28th of last month, assessing that A had consistently failed to pay wages and had no willingness to settle despite having the means to do so.

Kim In-cheol, the head of the Tongyeong Branch, stated, "There is a prevalent misconception among delinquents that they can simply pay a fine and be done with it," emphasizing that wage arrears are a serious livelihood crime that directly threatens the survival of workers and their families. He added that they would pursue legal responsibility to the fullest against malicious delinquent employers.

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