Unpaid wages: freeze an employer's assets with a provisional attachment

If your employer in Korea has not paid your wages, a provisional attachment (가압류) lets you freeze the employer's property before or during a lawsuit, so that something is left to collect when you win. You apply to a district court, show your claim on paper and often post security. Amounts and deadlines below are current as of October 2026.

Why freeze assets first

A wage lawsuit and the enforcement that follows take time, and meanwhile an employer can sell property, move money or transfer assets to someone else. A provisional attachment stops this. Under the Civil Execution Act (민사집행법), it is available for a claim for money or one convertible into money (Article 276) when a later judgment could not be enforced, or only with great difficulty, without it (Article 277). It can cover real estate, bank deposits and other money claims (채권), movable property (유체동산), cars and ships.

Unpaid wages are also a crime. From October 8, 2026, an employer who does not pay wages or final pay faces up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩50,000,000 (Labor Standards Act (근로기준법), Article 107). A criminal case does not pay you, though: you still need a civil judgment or settlement, and the attachment keeps the assets in place until then.

Main claims of ₩30,000,000 or less follow the faster small claims procedure (소액사건) (Small Claims Trial Rules, Article 1-2).

How the court handles the application

• The court can decide on the papers alone, without a hearing, and may question the parties if needed (Civil Execution Act, Articles 280(1) and 23; Civil Procedure Act, Article 134(2)).
• If the court dismisses the application or first orders you to post security, the employer is not told (Article 281(3)).
• You must make a prima facie showing (소명) of your claim and of the need for the attachment (Article 279(2)). For wages, attach your employment contract, pay slips and a calculation of the unpaid amount, plus facts that show a risk, such as other creditors pressing the employer, recent sales of property or a business in trouble.
• The court may order you to post security (담보) against any loss the attachment could cause the employer (Article 280(2) and (3)).

Your claim can include delay interest of 20% a year on wages and lump-sum severance pay not paid within 14 days after you leave. From October 23, 2025 this also applies to regular wages owed to current employees (Labor Standards Act, Article 37; Enforcement Decree, Article 17).

Where and how to file

File with the district court where the property is, or with the court that has or will have jurisdiction over the main lawsuit (Article 278). This jurisdiction is exclusive: the parties cannot agree on another court (Article 21).

According to the court's e-civil service center (전자민원센터), the application shows the parties and any legal representative or attorney, what you ask for (신청취지), your reasons, the court, your evidence, the date, your name with a seal or signature, the attachments and a description of the property. Courts provide standard forms for real estate, movable property and money claims, plus a provisional attachment statement form (가압류신청 진술서). Under the Supreme Court's internal rule (재민 2003-4, Article 3), an application without the statement can be dismissed without a request to correct it.

You can file at the court, or online through the e-litigation system (전자소송, ecfs.scourt.go.kr) after registering as a user (Act on the Use of Electronic Documents in Civil Litigation, Articles 3 and 5).

Costs and security

Pay the real estate taxes at the city, county or district office (시·군·구청) where the property is and submit the receipt.

If the court orders security, the order says how to provide it: a cash deposit with the court deposit office (공탁) or a guarantee insurance policy (공탁보증보험증권) from an insurer (Civil Procedure Act, Article 122; Civil Procedure Rules, Article 22). For real estate, cars and money claims, you can submit the guarantee document with your application for the court's approval, which saves time (Civil Execution Rules, Article 204). The law sets no fixed percentage; the court decides the amount case by case. A cash deposit ties up money until the security is released, while insurance costs a premium.

Executing the order

• Act fast: the order cannot be executed once 2 weeks have passed from the day it was notified to you, and execution may happen before the order is served on the employer (Article 292(2) and (3)).
• Real estate: the court has the attachment entered in the property register (Article 293).
• Bank deposits and other money claims: the order tells the third-party debtor (제3채무자), such as the employer's bank or customer, not to pay the employer (Article 296(3)). You can ask the court to make it state in writing within 1 week whether it accepts the claim and whether others have attached it (Article 237, applied through Article 291).
• Movable property: take the order to the court bailiff (집행관) of the district court where the goods are, fill in the delegation form and pay the fee (Civil Execution Rules, Article 212). The bailiff starts within 14 days of the day you received the order and serves the decision on the employer at the same time.

For several assets, prepare evidence and fees for each. Spreading the attachment over real estate, deposits and receivables lowers the risk that one asset is empty.

After the attachment

The attachment only freezes assets; you still have to win the main lawsuit (본안소송). If the employer applies, the court orders you to file it within at least 2 weeks and cancels the attachment if you do not (Article 287). If you do not file within 3 years after execution, the employer or an interested party can ask for cancellation (Article 288(1)). The attachment does not lapse by itself, but waiting puts it at risk. The employer can also lift it by depositing the amount stated in the order (Articles 282 and 299).

Once you win, you apply for compulsory execution (강제집행) against the attached property. If its value is below your claim or other creditors rank ahead of you, you may not recover everything, so keep checking the employer's assets.

More on security and the order to sue: A provisional attachment can be cancelled if you delay the main lawsuit.

Free legal help for workers

The Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단) supports civil cases of workers owed wages or severance pay free of charge, including foreign residents, if their average monthly wage for the last 3 months before the arrears was under ₩4,000,000. First file a complaint with the regional labor office. The labor inspector (근로감독관, renamed 노동감독관 from December 8, 2026) issues a confirmation of unpaid wages (체불 임금등·사업주 확인서) for you to take to the Corporation. Call 132 for an appointment. If you lose, the other side's legal costs are not covered.

Checklist

1. Collect your contract, pay slips, bank records and a calculation of the unpaid amount.
2. Find the employer's assets: the real estate register (등기사항증명서), the bank that receives its sales and its main customers.
3. Choose the court: where the property is, or the court of the main lawsuit.
4. Prepare the application, the statement form, ₩10,000 stamp duty and service fees.
5. Arrange cash or guarantee insurance in case security is ordered.
6. Execute within 2 weeks of receiving the order.
7. File the main lawsuit without delay.