📢 Recently, the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor implemented an important policy reform to better protect the rights of foreign workers.
(Effective from November 6, 2025)
To ensure that even foreigners staying in Korea without valid status can safely report unpaid wages, the obligation of labor inspectors at the Ministry of Employment and Labor to notify the Immigration Office has been abolished. With this change, foreign workers now have a fairer and safer way to resolve unpaid wage issues.
In the past, when an undocumented migrant reported unpaid wages, the labor inspector was legally required to notify the Immigration Office.
Because of this, many foreign workers hesitated to file a report at all.
With the recent reform, the obligation of labor inspectors to report such cases to immigration has been removed. Simply put, filing an unpaid wage claim no longer automatically leads to immigration crackdowns or enforcement actions.
• To strengthen the protection of workers’ rights without discrimination
• To ensure that foreign workers who suffer unpaid wages can report cases more safely
• To prevent employers from exploiting the insecure immigration status of foreigners to withhold wages
Even though the reporting obligation has been abolished, this does not mean that illegal stay is justified or legalized. However, regardless of one’s immigration status, everyone has the right to demand fair payment for their work.
If you have suffered damage due to unpaid wages, you are strongly encouraged to file a report.
