Lee Calls for Stronger Oversight of Industries Prone to Wage Arrears

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday called for stronger oversight of industries with recurring wage arrears and more detailed institutional safeguards to make the practice harder to sustain. His remarks placed renewed attention on unpaid wages as both a labor-rights issue and a threat to household stability ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

Speaking at the 47th meeting of senior presidential secretaries and aides, Lee urged the government to accelerate progress toward what he described as a society with zero wage arrears. He said authorities should reinforce their management of sectors in which delayed or unpaid wages occur frequently, while carefully revising systems that allow the problem to persist.

Lee acknowledged that active government inspections had significantly reduced both the total amount of unpaid wages and the number of affected workers this year. He nevertheless warned that the remaining scale of the problem was still substantial. The president noted that many people continue to face financial hardship because of wage arrears even as the country approaches one of its most important family holidays.

The president framed wages as more than a contractual payment. He said they are the legitimate return for labor and are directly connected to the livelihood of a worker’s household. Allowing employers to withhold earnings, he argued, can destabilize workers and their families while weakening the broader social expectation that honest work will receive fair compensation.

Lee pointed to an amendment to the Framework Act on the Construction Industry as one measure designed to address the issue. The revised law is scheduled to take effect next year. He instructed relevant agencies to prepare for its implementation without disruption and called for prompt improvement plans in other industries facing similar structural problems.

The emphasis on recurring sectors suggests that the administration intends to move beyond resolving individual complaints after they occur. A sector-focused approach could involve closer supervision of workplaces and payment practices where arrears are repeatedly reported, alongside changes intended to prevent delayed payment in the first place. Lee did not announce additional legislation or provide new enforcement targets during the meeting.

His comments set a policy direction for labor and enforcement agencies as they prepare for the new construction-sector rules and examine whether comparable measures are needed elsewhere. Lee said workers should never face the injustice of completing their jobs but failing to receive their wages on time.