Overdue wages for foreign workers exceed 20 bln won in 2010

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Overdue wages for foreigners working in South Korea exceeded 20 billion won (US$16.9 million) last year amid tumbling world and local economies, the labor ministry said Friday.
   Some 3,829 workplaces nationwide were in arrears as of 2010 for a total of 21.7 billion won in wages for foreign workers, a report by the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.
   About half of that amount was later paid or settled through the intermediation of labor authorities but the remainder is still owed, according to the report.
   The ministry said the amount of overdue wages for workers from abroad has risen steadily in recent years. The overdue amount was 6.28 billion won in 2007 and 17.03 billion won in 2008. It increased sharply to 23.68 billion won the following year, the report showed.
   For the first half of 2011, foreign worker wages in arrears totaled 9.79 billion won, the ministry said.
   As of the end of July, the country had about 181,000 foreign workers, 93 percent of whom work in the manufacturing industry, it noted.
   The ministry attributed the rise in overdue wages to sluggish economic performance both overseas and at home.
   "As the country passed through the 2008 global financial crisis, overdue wages for foreign workers sharply increased," a ministry official said. "The government is sternly dealing with overdue pay for foreign workers and Korean workers alike," the official added.
   pbr@yna.co.kr
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