Unpaid wages in Korea: file a petition and expect a 25-day review

This guide is for workers in Korea, including foreign workers, who have not been paid, and for employers who receive a petition. The rule: you can file a petition (진정) with the regional labor office, and the office must handle it within 25 days, with limited extensions. It follows the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) as amended up to October 8, 2026 and the Labor Inspectors' Work Rules (근로감독관 집무규정) of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부).

Where and how to file

A wage petition goes to the regional employment and labor office (지방고용노동관서) that covers the workplace (Work Rules, Article 35). You can file online on the Labor Portal (노동포털, labor.moel.go.kr), the ministry's petition website: open Petitions (진정·청원) and choose the form "진정서(임금체불, 직장내 괴롭힘, 기타 노동법 위반)". The same form can be handed in at the office, posted or faxed. The ministry's call center number is 1350. If you live far away, the offices can agree to move the case.

Foreign workers have the same rights. The Act bans discrimination in working conditions because of nationality (Article 6).

Give every contact detail you have for the employer: workplace, registered and home addresses, phone numbers, and the names and numbers of managers, accountants or HR staff. The labor inspector (근로감독관) sends a written summons (출석요구서) and may also call or fax (Work Rules, Articles 8 and 37). Without a working address, the case slows down.

The Act defines the employer (사용자) as the business owner, those who manage the business, and anyone acting for the owner on workers' matters (Article 2). If the registered owner and the person who hired and paid you are different, name both. Say who hired you, who gave you instructions and who paid you.

If several colleagues were not paid, consider filing together. Consistent statements from many workers help the inspector establish the facts. Choose one person to speak with the inspector for the group.

Evidence when records are missing

The strongest evidence is your contract, payslips and bank records. Employers must give a payslip, on paper or electronically, each time they pay wages (Article 48). Small businesses often give none of these. In that case, collect what you can: messages about pay and shifts, time records, photos of work schedules, and written statements from colleagues with dates, duties, pay and what happened. Before the first interview, call the inspector named on the summons, explain your situation and ask what to bring.

If you apply for a confirmation of unpaid wages (체불 임금등·사업주 확인서), the inspector must check objective records such as employment and industrial accident insurance premium records, rather than statements alone (Work Rules, Article 37-2).

The investigation

• You may send a representative with a power of attorney, and you may ask to be questioned separately from the employer (Work Rules, Articles 8 and 37).
• If you ignore two summonses, if mail to you comes back twice, or if you clearly say before a correction order that you no longer want to proceed, the case can be closed (Article 40).
• If the employer cannot be found or ignores two summonses, the inspector decides on your evidence and witnesses, and starts a criminal investigation if a violation is confirmed (Article 40). An employer who does not report or appear when the inspector asks faces an administrative fine of up to ₩5,000,000 (Labor Standards Act, Articles 13 and 116).
• When unpaid wages are confirmed, the inspector issues a written correction order with a deadline within 3 working days (Work Rules, Article 37-2). If the employer pays by the deadline, the case ends. After the order, the case does not end just because you withdraw it. If the employer does not pay, a criminal investigation follows.

Be careful with a statement that you do not want the employer punished (처벌불원). Wage offenses cannot be prosecuted against the victim's explicit wish, so the case closes. You cannot take back that statement, and you cannot file again on the same matter (Work Rules, Article 41).

Processing time and extensions

The office must handle a petition within 25 days of receipt (Work Rules, Article 42). Saturdays and public holidays are not counted (Civil Petitions Treatment Act, Article 19). A criminal complaint (고소·고발) is investigated within 2 months and then sent to prosecutors.

The 25 days can be extended once, for unavoidable reasons. A second extension needs your consent. If the employer applies for a government loan to pay the overdue wages, the case can be paused for 50 days with your consent. You must be told of each extension, and if the extended period also runs out, you get the reason and expected date at least once a month. You can check progress on the Labor Portal under "나의민원 조회" (my petitions).

If you disagree with the result

First, tell the inspector why the decision is wrong and show your evidence. If the case is closed against you, you can file again. The office then assigns a different inspector, handles the case under a prosecutor's direction, or asks its expert committee for advice (Work Rules, Article 43). If it comes back again, a review committee with at least one outside member can decide it, with reasons in writing.

Penalties and limits

• From October 8, 2026, failing to pay wages, final pay within 14 days of leaving, or overtime premiums is punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩50,000,000 (Labor Standards Act, Article 107). Before that date the maximum was 3 years or ₩30,000,000. There is no prosecution against the victim's explicit wish, except for employers on the public list of wage defaulters who offend again during the listing period.
• Unpaid wages carry delay interest of 20% a year. It applies to final pay not paid within 14 days of leaving and, since October 23, 2025, also to regular pay that current employees do not receive on payday (Article 37; Enforcement Decree, Article 17).
• The labor office cannot seize the employer's money. If wages remain unpaid, the inspector must explain how to apply for the government's substitute payment (대지급금) under the Wage Claim Guarantee Act and for free legal aid from the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단) (Work Rules, Article 40). In a civil suit you can claim up to three times the unpaid amount in the cases listed in Article 43-8, such as clear intent or 3 or more months of unpaid pay within a year.
• Your employer may not dismiss or otherwise punish you for reporting (Article 104). A breach is punishable by up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩20,000,000 (Article 110).
• From December 8, 2026, labor inspectors take the new title 노동감독관 under the Labor Inspector Duties Act (노동감독관 직무집행법). Petitions filed before then stay valid.

Checklist

• File on the Labor Portal or at the office that covers the workplace.
• List every address, phone number and manager you know, and name both the registered and the real employer.
• Gather your contract, payslips, bank records, messages and colleagues' statements.
• Attend every summons or send a representative.
• State that you do not want the employer punished only once you understand that it ends the case for good.
• Track the 25-day period and any extension notices.