On September 26, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Labor Standards Act, allowing workers to claim punitive damages of up to three times the amount of unpaid wages from employers who habitually delay wage payments.
This amendment strengthens sanctions against employers who intentionally and repeatedly fail to pay wages without any intention of settlement. The strengthened measures include credit sanctions, restrictions on government support, disadvantages in public sector bids, and the exclusion of non-prosecution agreements for wage-related offenses.
Additionally, if an employer is found to have deliberately withheld wages, or if the unpaid period exceeds three months within a year, or the total unpaid amount exceeds three months’ worth of wages, workers can claim up to three times the unpaid wages in court. Moreover, the late interest payment (20%), previously only applied to retirees, has been extended to current employees. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is also authorized to provide data on habitual wage defaulters to credit information agencies, and it can request travel bans for employers whose names have been publicly disclosed.
For more detailed information, please refer to the linked material below.
