The petition to file when your wages are not paid

Right now

1. 1Take photos of your bank deposit history, your employment contract, and your pay statements, and keep them in one place. The Ministry of Employment and Labor tells workers to prepare pay records, the contract, and proof of working hours when they file.
2. 2If you have left the job, mark the 14th day counted from the day you left. If you have not been paid by then, you can file a petition.
3. 3If you plan to visit a labor office counter, go by Wednesday, September 23. September 24 to 27 is the Chuseok holiday plus a Sunday, so public offices are closed, and the ministry's pre-Chuseok period of intensive action on unpaid wages also ends on the 23rd.

What to have ready

• Employment contract: The baseline for checking the promised pay and payday. If you have no contract, collect anything that states the terms, such as the job posting or text messages.
• Pay statements: The employer must give you one every time you are paid. If you never got one, write that down too.
• Bank deposit history: Screenshot the screen that shows the date and amount for each month.
• Records of your working hours: Anything that shows when you worked. Keep photos of work schedules and work messages as well.
• Alien Registration Card (ARC) and a Korean bank account: When you claim the substitute payment, attach a copy of your bank account along with a copy of your ARC or passport.
• Name and address of the workplace: The labor office that takes your petition is decided by where the workplace is, not where you live.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

1. 1

   Two dates decide whether your pay is unpaid

   By the Labor Portal's definition, unpaid wages are wages a current employee did not receive on the regular payday, and wages, severance, allowances, and bonuses a former employee did not receive within 14 days of leaving. Partial payment counts too. Article 43 of the Labor Standards Act requires wages to be paid in full, in money, directly to the worker, at least once a month on a fixed date. Article 36 requires wages, compensation, and all other money owed to be paid within 14 days after a worker leaves. However the employer explains the delay, once the date has passed, the pay is already unpaid. Small workplaces are no exception. The act as a whole applies to workplaces with five or more regular employees, but according to a ministry counseling answer, the articles on final settlement (Article 36), wage payment (Article 43), and the wage ledger (Article 48) also apply to workplaces with four or fewer. Article 6 of the same act bans discrimination in working conditions on the basis of nationality.

2. 2

   Gather evidence before you write the petition

   The ministry advises workers to prepare pay records, the employment contract, and proof of working hours when they file. The first set is the bank screen showing deposits, the contract, and your pay statements. A pay statement is something the employer has to hand over without being asked. Article 48(2) of the Labor Standards Act requires employers, each time they pay wages, to give a statement in writing or electronically that lists what the wage is made up of, how it was calculated, and any deductions. If you never got one, record that fact. Working hours can be shown with schedules or clock-in records. Do not delete texts or chats with the employer. Take screenshots of them.

3. 3

   The labor office where the workplace is takes the petition

   Where:

   Labor Portal (labor.moel.go.kr), or the customer support office of the regional employment and labor office that covers the workplace

   Cost:

   No fee

   You can ask the labor office for two different things. A petition asks the office to get your unpaid wages paid. A criminal complaint asks for the employer to be punished for violating the Labor Standards Act. A petition can be filed in person, by mail, or online. Online, you log in to the Labor Portal as an individual member and choose the petition for unpaid wages, workplace harassment, and other labor law violations. A criminal complaint has to be filed in person at the customer support office of the regional labor office with jurisdiction. Either way, jurisdiction follows where the workplace is, not where you live. If you do not know where to start, call the ministry's customer counseling center first. The number is 1350, with no area code. Calls are charged, and the line is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

4. 4

   For 25 days, a labor inspector calls in both sides

   How long:

   25 days excluding Saturdays and public holidays, extendable twice

   Once a labor inspector is assigned, the inspector asks both you and the employer to appear and investigates. The processing period is 25 days, not counting Saturdays and public holidays. It can be extended twice. The first extension is at the inspector's discretion, and the second needs your consent. If the investigation confirms unpaid wages, the inspector orders the employer to correct it, and the case closes once the employer pays. If the employer ignores the order, it becomes a criminal case, is investigated, and is sent to the prosecutors. You get a KakaoTalk notification or a text message at each stage. If you fail to appear twice or more, the case is closed on the view that you do not want to pursue it, so if you are planning to leave Korea or move, tell the inspector the day they first contact you. The Chuseok public holidays do not count toward the 25 days.

5. 5

   If the employer does not pay, COMWEL pays instead

   Cost:

   Up to 10 million won if you have left, up to 7 million won if you still work there

   If the investigation confirms unpaid wages and the money still does not come, claim the simplified substitute payment. Get a certificate of unpaid wages for a substitute payment claim from the labor inspector and submit it to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (COMWEL), which then pays on the employer's behalf. If you have left the job, you receive the unpaid part of your last three months of wages and your last three years of severance. The cap is 7 million won for wages and 7 million won for severance, 10 million won combined. There are two conditions. You must have filed the petition within one year from the day after you left, and the workplace must have been covered by industrial accident compensation insurance and in operation for at least six months up to your last day. If you still work there, you can claim if your hourly wage is below 110 percent of the minimum wage. In that case you must have filed within one year from the day after the last missed payment, and the cap is 7 million won. Foreigners can claim too. COMWEL states that not only people working legally but also people working illegally can claim, regardless of any Immigration Act violation, as long as they worked at a workplace covered by the Labor Standards Act and meet the definition of a worker. Foreigners attach a copy of their ARC or passport in addition to a copy of their bank account. Online claims go through COMWEL's Total Service site (total.comwel.or.kr) with your own digital certificate. For questions, call COMWEL at 1588-0075.

6. 6

   On E-9 status, unpaid wages are grounds to change workplaces

   Foreign workers on non-professional employment (E-9) status can apply to change workplaces only for reasons set by law. Article 25 of the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers lists those reasons, and a Ministry of Employment and Labor notice spells out the ones that are not the worker's fault. Unpaid wages are one of them. Article 4 of the notice covers an employer who does not pay, or pays late, 30 percent or more of monthly wages for over two months or on two or more occasions, or 10 percent or more of monthly wages for over four months or on four or more occasions, and an employer who pays less than the minimum wage. Simple calculation mistakes by the employer are excluded. Apply to the head of the employment security office while the non-payment is still going on, or before four months have passed since it ended. Workplace changes are limited to three in principle, or two during an extended period, but a change for this reason does not count toward the limit. Two deadlines come with it instead. If you do not apply within one month after your employment contract ends, or do not get permission to change your workplace within three months of applying, you must leave Korea.

7. 7

   Count everything you are owed before you sign a settlement

   Prosecutors cannot charge an employer over unpaid wages against the explicit wishes of the worker. The rule sits in Article 109(2) of the Labor Standards Act now, and under the amendment that takes effect on October 8 it moves to Article 107(2) with the same wording. So before you sign a settlement that says you do not want the employer punished, confirm that everything you are owed has arrived. The maximum penalty is going up. It is now up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. From October 8, when the law amended in April 2026 takes effect, it becomes up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won. If an employer publicly listed for unpaid wages fails to pay again during the listing period, prosecutors can charge them regardless of the worker's wishes.

8. 8

   Interest builds with every day of delay

   At workplaces with five or more regular employees, two more rules apply. First, late wages carry delay interest of 20 percent a year, the rate set by Article 37 of the Labor Standards Act and Article 17 of its Enforcement Decree. For someone who has left, it runs from the day after the 14th day counted from the day they left. For a current employee, it runs from the day after the fixed payday. Either way it runs until the day the money is actually paid. Severance paid as a lump sum is included. No interest accrues while payment is delayed by natural disasters or other reasons set in the decree, and those include cases where it is considered appropriate to dispute in court or before the Labor Relations Commission whether the wages are owed. Second, when non-payment is serious, you can ask a court for up to three times the wages owed. Article 43-8 covers cases where the employer clearly intended not to pay, where the months with missed payments add up to three or more within one year, and where the total unpaid amount equals three months or more of ordinary wages. Every claim has a time limit. Wage claims under the Labor Standards Act expire if they are not exercised for three years.

9. 9

   Inspections are concentrated until September 23

   In a press release on August 31, the Ministry of Employment and Labor set September 1 to 23 as a period of intensive guidance on clearing unpaid wages ahead of Chuseok. Before the holiday, it is fully investigating and inspecting about 8,000 workplaces at high risk of unpaid wages, such as workplaces with repeated complaints and construction businesses. That is 2,000 more than the 6,000 last year. Where the unpaid amount is large, many workers are affected, or non-payment has led to a dispute, the head of the regional office goes to the site in person to push for payment. The ministry said it would point struggling employers to its loan program for clearing unpaid wages, and would respond to malicious or habitual offenders with investigations under arrest. Public offices close for the holiday from September 24 to 27, and counters reopen on Monday, September 28.

The Korean words

임금체불imgeum chebul, unpaid wages

Pay not received on payday or within 14 days of leaving. This is the word on Labor Portal menus and in counseling guides.

진정jinjeong, a petition to the labor office to get unpaid wages paid

Different from a criminal complaint, which asks for punishment. There is no fee.

고소goso, a criminal complaint asking for the employer to be punished

Filed in person at the customer support office of the labor office.

근로감독관geullo gamdokgwan, labor inspector

Calls both sides in and issues correction orders. From December 8, 2026, the legal title changes to 노동감독관 (nodong gamdokgwan).

체불확인서chebul hwaginseo, certificate of unpaid wages

The official name is 체불 임금등 사업주 확인서. You use it to claim the simplified substitute payment.

간이대지급금gani daejigeupgeum, unpaid wages that COMWEL pays on the employer's behalf

Up to 10 million won if you have left, up to 7 million won if you still work there.

금품청산geumpum cheongsan, final settlement of everything owed after you leave

It has to be done within 14 days of leaving.

임금명세서imgeum myeongseseo, pay statement

The employer must give one in writing or electronically every time wages are paid.

사업장 변경saeopjang byeongyeong, a non-professional employment (E-9) worker moving to another workplace

Unpaid wages above the set share and period are grounds that are not the worker's fault.

Easy to miss

• ·Letting a few days' delay slide. If you do not get the full amount on the regular payday, the pay is unpaid from that day.
• ·Assuming the law does not reach a small shop. The articles on final settlement and wage payment apply to workplaces with four or fewer regular employees too.
• ·Going to the labor office in your own neighborhood. The office that covers the workplace takes the petition.
• ·Filing a petition and then ignoring requests to appear. Miss two or more and the case is closed.
• ·Filing more than a year after leaving. The simplified substitute payment based on a certificate of unpaid wages covers people who filed within one year from the day after they left.
• ·Giving up because you were working illegally. COMWEL states that you can claim the substitute payment regardless of any Immigration Act violation if you meet the definition of a worker.
• ·Signing a settlement saying you do not want the employer punished before you have all your money. Prosecutors cannot charge the employer against your explicit wishes.
• ·Letting a month slip by after your contract ends on E-9 status. If you do not apply to change workplaces within one month, you must leave Korea.

You can skip this if

• If you worked under a freelancer or independent contractor agreement, the first question is whether you count as a worker. Petitions are for workers.
• If you are not on non-professional employment (E-9) status, the workplace change rules in step 6 do not apply.
• The amounts and penalties in this guide were checked on September 12, 2026. The penalty articles change on October 8, and the legal title of labor inspectors becomes 노동감독관 on December 8.

Where this comes from

• Top priority on livelihoods, clearing unpaid wages before Chuseok, August 31, 2026, Ministry of Employment and Labor press release
• How to resolve unpaid wages, Ministry of Employment and Labor Labor Portal
• Guide to the petition for unpaid wages, workplace harassment, and other labor law violations, Labor Portal
• Counseling answer on the rules that apply to workplaces with four or fewer regular employees, Ministry of Employment and Labor
• Counseling answer on unpaid wage petitions at workplaces with five or fewer employees, Ministry of Employment and Labor
• Wage claim FAQ, whether foreigners can receive the substitute payment, Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service
• Labor Standards Act, National Law Information Center
• Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, National Law Information Center
• Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, National Law Information Center
• Grounds for a workplace change not attributable to foreign workers, Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice No. 2021-30, National Law Information Center
• Customer counseling center 1350, Ministry of Employment and Labor