KUALA LUMPUR - South Korean labour authorities are intensifying enforcement against employers who deliberately withhold wages, elevating such practices to what officials describe as a “grave social crime”.

According to The Korea Times, the move comes amid mounting concerns over systemic exploitation of migrant workers.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Tuesday it had launched investigations into 1,350 cases of wage arrears in 2025, including 14 serious cases that led to the arrest of employers.

Search operations rose by nearly 30 per cent from the previous year, a surge the ministry said reflected the need to expose intentional abuses, particularly against foreign workers unfamiliar with local labour protections.

One of the cases involved a pig farm owner in South Jeolla Province, who was arrested in April on allegations of assaulting foreign workers and withholding 260 million won in wages and severance pay.

Prosecutors allege the employer systematically cheated 62 workers, exploiting their precarious immigration status to suppress complaints.

Authorities executed a search warrant at the farm and seized the owner’s mobile phone, which reportedly contained images used as evidence of worker abuse.

In another case highlighting the vulnerability of certain groups, an employer with more than 100 workers, including individuals with intellectual disabilities, was arrested for failing to pay a total of 910 million won in wages.

Investigators also found that the employer had fraudulently obtained about 60 million won by abusing the government’s substitute wage payment system.

A separate arrest was made involving an employer of 10 older women working as cleaners, accused of withholding 89 million won in wages and severance.

Authorities said the employer made no attempt to compensate the victims and continued withholding pay from other staff, conduct officials described as particularly aggravated.

“For workers whose livelihoods are put at risk by unpaid wages, we will move quickly to protect them through the substitute wage payment system and hold employers criminally liable to the very end.

“We will continue to build and disclose cases of arrests so that a firm social consensus takes root that wage arrears are not acceptable under any circumstances,” said Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon.

The stepped-up enforcement comes alongside broader measures to protect non-citizen victims of wage theft.

Since December 29, labour inspectors have been making regular visits to immigration detention facilities in Hwaseong, Cheongju, Yeosu, Incheon and Ulsan to provide counselling to detainees who may be owed wages.

Where unpaid wages are confirmed, the Ministry of Justice may approve the temporary release of detainees, allowing them to pursue claims and legal action against offending employers more swiftly.

In a related move, the Justice Ministry has revised regulations under the Immigration Control Act to exempt foreign workers who are victims of unpaid wages from being reported to immigration authorities.

Previously, public officials were required to report undocumented migrants encountered in the course of duty — a rule that critics said discouraged workers from reporting abuse for fear of deportation.