"Claimed Wages Were Paid": Famous Restaurant Owner Reported for Forging Remittance Confirmations with AI

Wage Arrears Uncovered at Six Restaurant Locations in Seoul
Labor Office Considers Arrest Warrant for Labor Standards Act Violation

An owner operating several well-known restaurants in Seoul was caught submitting forged remittance confirmation documents, created with artificial intelligence (AI), to the labor authorities to make it appear as if overdue wages had been paid to employees.

According to Yonhap News Agency on June 10, the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office has reported the owner to the police on charges including forgery of private documents. The office is also considering applying for an arrest warrant on suspicion of violating the Labor Standards Act.

The Seoul Labor Office recently announced, through a labor inspection, that the owner of a large restaurant in Seoul, referred to as Mr. A, failed to pay a total of approximately 51 million won in wages to 65 employees. Investigations revealed that 27 million won was withheld from 38 current employees and 24 million won from 27 former employees.

The restaurants operated by Mr. A have six locations across Seoul and are known as popular eateries on social networking services (SNS) and other platforms.

The Seoul Labor Office immediately initiated criminal proceedings against Mr. A for failing to comply with corrective orders. In addition, a fine of 9 million won was imposed for submitting false documents. Offenses that fall outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor’s investigation—including forgery of private documents, use of forged documents, and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means—were referred to the police.

This case was uncovered during the Seoul Labor Office’s intensive inspection of workplaces suspected of so-called "Fake 3.3" disguised employment, which began in December of last year. "Fake 3.3" refers to a practice where workers are hired as employees but are made to sign freelance contracts instead of employment contracts, thereby avoiding the application of the Labor Standards Act. The Seoul Labor Office has been conducting targeted inspections of 44 such suspected workplaces.

To prevent similar cases, the Seoul Labor Office plans to strengthen its inspection procedures by requiring submission of corporate account transaction records, cross-checking these with remittance confirmation documents, and directly verifying with workers whether they have received overdue wages.

Kwon Taesung, head of the Seoul Labor Office, stated, "Falsifying and submitting documents to evade corrective orders during labor inspections is a serious illegal act that deliberately deceives government agencies and directly undermines government oversight functions. Not only does this violate the Labor Standards Act, but we will also work closely with the police and use every possible measure to ensure strict punishment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.