Employer not paying you in Korea? How foreign workers — including E-9 and part-timers — file a labor complaint, get free help, and recover unpaid wages.
Last verified & updated: 2026-09-09
If your employer in Korea has not paid your wages, overtime, or severance, you have a clear legal path to recover the money — and it works the same whether you are an E-9 factory worker, a part-time student, or even undocumented. The process is free, does not require a lawyer, and in many cases the government pays you first and collects from the employer later. This guide walks through the hotlines, the labor office petition (jinjeong), and the free legal aid available to foreign workers.
Korea's Labor Standards Act protects everyone who actually performs work in Korea, regardless of nationality or visa status. Courts and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) treat the wage claim and the immigration question as separate legal issues: even if you worked without a valid visa or work permit, the wages you earned are legally owed to you, and you can file a complaint to recover them.
Since November 6, 2025, the Ministry of Justice has formally exempted labor inspectors handling wage-theft complaints from the usual duty to report undocumented foreigners to immigration authorities.
Act quickly: wage claims expire three years after the money became due. By law, all wages and severance must be paid within 14 days after you leave a job, and an employer who fails to pay can face criminal punishment of up to 3 years in prison or a 30 million won fine.
You can win a case without a written contract, but every piece of evidence makes the labor inspector's job easier and the process faster. Collect copies before you confront your employer, in case you lose access to the workplace.
1. Employment contract (근로계약서), if you have one — even a photo of it.
2. Records of hours worked: timesheets, work schedules, shift tables, commute app logs, or your own daily notes with dates and hours.
3. KakaoTalk, SMS, or messenger conversations with the boss about work, schedules, and pay — screenshots with dates visible.
4. Bank statements showing past salary deposits (they prove the pay rate and that an employment relationship existed) and pay slips if any.
5. Anything else: photos of you at the workplace, uniforms or ID badges, and names and contacts of coworkers who can confirm you worked there.
Before filing, a phone consultation helps you confirm how much you are owed and what documents you need. The MOEL customer counseling center (dial 1350, no area code) is the main labor-rights hotline; it operates primarily in Korean but can guide foreign workers to interpretation services at local labor offices.
For counseling directly in your own language, call the Foreign Workforce Counseling Center (외국인력상담센터) at 1577-0071. It is run by HRD Korea under MOEL for Employment Permit System workers and employers, with native-language counselors covering the languages of the EPS sending countries (Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Nepali, and more), plus real-time three-way interpretation. English is not on its official language list, so English speakers may get better results from the Immigration Contact Center at 1345, which offers English.
For visa-side questions — for example, what a wage complaint means for your stay — the Immigration Contact Center at 1345 provides counseling in about 20 languages.
| Number | Service | Languages |
|---|---|---|
| 1350 | MOEL counseling center — wage theft, labor law | Korean; can connect foreign workers to interpretation |
| 1577-0071 | Foreign Workforce Counseling Center (HRD Korea) | Korean + 17 EPS-country languages (no English), 3-way interpretation |
| 1345 | Immigration Contact Center — visa and stay questions | About 20 languages |
| 132 | Korea Legal Aid Corporation — free lawsuits for unpaid wages | Korean; bring an interpreter or ask a support center to help |
A jinjeong (진정) is a formal complaint asking the government to make your employer pay. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.
1. File online through MOEL's civil petition service on the Labor Portal (labor.moel.go.kr — go to 민원신청 and choose the wage arrears petition, 임금체불 진정), or visit the local labor office (지방고용노동청) that covers your workplace in person. The online form is in Korean, so ask a support center or a Korean-speaking friend to help if needed.
2. A labor inspector (근로감독관) is assigned, usually within about a week, and summons both you and the employer to give statements — sometimes face to face. Attend every appointment and bring all your evidence; if you miss two summonses the case is closed (though you can refile).
3. The standard processing period is 25 working days, extendable if the case is complicated. Many cases end here: the inspector calculates the exact amount owed and orders the employer to pay, and employers often pay to avoid criminal referral.
4. If the employer still refuses, the case is referred for criminal prosecution, and the inspector issues you a Confirmation of Unpaid Wages and Employer (체불 임금등·사업주 확인서). Keep this document safe — it is the key that unlocks the government payout and free lawsuits described below.
Korea has a safety net called the simplified wage arrears payment (간이대지급금): the state pays you a capped portion of confirmed unpaid wages and severance up front, then chases the employer for reimbursement itself. You apply to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (근로복지공단) using the confirmation document from the labor office, and foreign workers apply on the same basis as Koreans.
Under current rules, the caps are up to 7 million won for unpaid wages (final 3 months) and up to 7 million won for unpaid severance (final 3 years), with a combined maximum of 10 million won; workers still employed at the business can claim the wage portion only. Caps and conditions are adjusted from time to time, so confirm the current figures with the labor inspector or at 1350 when you apply.
Deadlines are strict: to qualify through the labor-office route, the petition must be filed within one year of the day you left the job, and the payout claim must then be made to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service within six months of the confirmation document being first issued — so move promptly at every step. Any amount above the caps can still be recovered from the employer through a civil lawsuit, which for most workers is free through legal aid.
| Item | Cap (current rules — confirm when applying) | Period covered |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid wages / suspension allowance | Up to 7,000,000 won | Final 3 months |
| Unpaid severance pay | Up to 7,000,000 won | Final 3 years |
| Combined maximum | 10,000,000 won | — |
The Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단, dial 132) provides completely free legal aid — consultation, drafting, and full lawsuit representation — for wage-theft victims whose average monthly wage in the final three months was under 4 million won, and this explicitly includes foreign workers residing in Korea. Bring your confirmation document from the labor office and your ID to the nearest branch; the litigation costs are funded by MOEL.
In-person help is also available from foreign worker support centers. The old national network was reorganized in 2024 and centers are now run with local governments, so availability varies by region — call 1577-0071 to find the nearest one, and many migrant-support NGOs and counseling desks also assist with petitions free of charge.
E-9 (and H-2) workers have extra layers of protection. Employers must enroll E-9 workers in departure guarantee insurance (출국만기보험), which functions as your severance fund — and if the insurance payout is less than your legal severance, the employer must pay the difference. A separate employer-funded wage payment guarantee insurance can cover a portion of arrears (up to around 4 million won at covered workplaces), and unpaid wages are recognized grounds for an EPS workplace transfer, so ask your local job center about changing employers without penalty.
Q. Can undocumented workers really file a complaint and get their money?
Yes. The Labor Standards Act protects anyone who actually worked, and labor offices accept and process petitions from undocumented workers. Since November 6, 2025, officials handling wage-theft complaints are formally exempt from the duty to report undocumented status to immigration, so the complaint itself is not supposed to trigger deportation proceedings — though it is still smart to consult a migrant worker support center before filing if your status is irregular.
Q. How long does the whole process take?
The labor office aims to process a petition within 25 working days, extendable for complex cases, so straightforward cases often resolve in one to three months when the employer pays after the inspector's order. If the employer refuses, add time for the government arrears payment application or a civil suit. Attending every inspector appointment and bringing complete evidence is the best way to keep it fast.
Q. I worked more than a year — do I get severance pay too?
Yes. Any worker — foreign or Korean, full-time or part-time — who worked one year or more, averaging 15 or more hours per week, is entitled to severance pay, due within 14 days of leaving the job. For E-9 workers, the departure guarantee insurance payout counts toward this, but if it is less than the legal severance amount (calculated on your full average wage including overtime), the employer must pay the shortfall.
Q. My employer threatens to report me to immigration or cancel my visa if I complain. What should I do?
The wage debt does not disappear because of threats — your right to be paid is separate from your visa status, and an employer cannot 'cancel' your right to file. Save the threatening messages as evidence, then call 1577-0071 or 1350. For E-9 workers, unpaid wages are recognized grounds to transfer to a new workplace through the job center, so you do not have to stay with a non-paying employer to keep your visa.
Q. I never signed a written contract. Can I still claim unpaid wages?
Yes. The employment relationship can be proven with bank deposit records, KakaoTalk messages about shifts and pay, work schedules, and coworker statements. Note that failing to issue a written contract is itself a violation by the employer — it weakens their position, not yours.
Phone numbers, fees, and procedures can change. Treat this page as a starting point and confirm details with the official sources above.