Convience Store Owner Arrested for Withholding Wages from Young Workers

The Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Agency announced the arrest of a convenience store owner, Mr. A, on charges of habitually withholding wages from 15 young workers.

Mr. A had repeatedly hired mainly young inexperienced workers at four convenience stores and one restaurant located in Daejeon, Gyeryong in Chungnam Province, and Uljin in Gyeongbuk Province, and then cut off contact without paying their wages. The total amount of unpaid wages reaches approximately 14 million won.

The Employment and Labor Agency confirmed that, following a search of the franchise headquarters operated by Mr. A, there was sufficient operating profit to pay the withheld wages. However, it was found that wages were selectively paid to some workers only, indicating that Mr. A had intentionally planned to withhold wages.

Mr. A has a prior record of being fined 22 times and sentenced to prison once for wage withholding, and he currently has four ongoing criminal trials related to this issue. Since 2008, a total of 119 wage withholding complaints have been filed against him, with the total amount of unpaid wages reaching about 460 million won.

Despite this record, he continued to engage in the same misconduct.

Additionally, Mr. A is accused of employing minors under the age of 18 for night work without permission and failing to prepare labor contracts.

He evaded requests from investigative agencies to appear and changed his registered address 61 times, ultimately being captured in the early hours of the 25th after undercover investigations by labor inspectors. Consequently, on the same day, the Employment and Labor Agency applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A.

Kim Do-hyung, head of the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Agency, stated, "This is a very serious case where a business owner systematically withheld wages from young individuals who took their first steps into society with hope, leading them to give up. We will respond strictly, including tracking down and arresting business owners who maliciously and habitually withhold payments from vulnerable groups such as young people, even if the amounts are small."

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