"The government's unpaid wages to foreign workers increased for 4 years"

The amount paid by the government to foreign workers who did not receive wages on behalf of business owners has steadily increased over the past four years.

According to the data received by Rep. Kim So-hee from the Korea Labor Welfare Corporation, the amount of large payments to foreign workers last year was 79.1 billion won, nearly doubling from 2019.

By size of workplaces, workplaces with fewer than five employees accounted for half of the total payment, and by industry, the manufacturing industry was the most at 31.3 billion won.

Lawmaker Kim said it is difficult to know whether the collection of large payments is being done properly, and pointed out that the system should be supplemented by supporting foreign workers who have been affected, expanding the reporting window and strengthening labor supervision.