"Helping Part-Time Workers with Wage Arrears Before Chuseok"...Daegu Solidarity for Participation to Support Lawsuits for 100 Victims
Attorney Lee Dongmin to Represent Plaintiffs
Minimum Wage and Allowance Non-Payment Also Targeted
On September 15, three organizations—Daegu Solidarity for Participation, Daegu Labor Mutual Aid “Naran,” and Friends of Jeon Tae-il—announced their support for lawsuits addressing wage arrears and minimum wage violations affecting part-time workers in the Daegu area.
Daegu Solidarity for Participation stated, “Violations of labor law, such as workers not receiving rightful compensation for their work, continue to persist in our communities. Receiving wages below the minimum wage, delayed wage payments, and non-payment of weekly holiday allowances are all clearly illegal, but it is difficult for individuals to raise and address these issues on their own.” The organization added, “We have decided to support lawsuits by gathering citizens in Daegu who have suffered labor law violations at their workplaces.”
Daegu Solidarity for Participation plans to support around 100 victims, not by initiating a collective lawsuit after a separate recruitment period, but by preparing complaints for each applicant as they come in and sequentially filing individual lawsuits immediately.
According to Daegu Solidarity for Participation, part-time student workers at businesses in Daegu who have experienced underpayment (below the minimum wage), wage arrears, or non-payment of weekly holiday allowances are eligible to be plaintiffs. However, they clarified that wages more than three years past the payment date are difficult to claim. Lawsuits may be filed for minimum wage violations, wage arrears, non-payment of weekly holiday allowances, and non-payment of overtime, night, or holiday allowances.
Daegu Solidarity for Participation also noted, “There are absolutely no participation fees, and Lee Dongmin, a member attorney with Daegu Solidarity for Participation (Law Office Bomgyeol), will represent the plaintiffs. Unlike petitions to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, this process is a public-interest lawsuit led by a lawyer, so victims do not need to meet their employer face-to-face or appear in court. The lawyer will handle everything—from drafting the complaint, responding to the employer, to all court procedures.”
According to an analysis of the status of wage workers by city, county, and district in the Daegu region in 2023 by the Democracy Labor Institute, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the non-compliance rate with minimum wage in Nam-gu, Daegu was 22.4 percent in 2021, nearly twice the national average (11.9 percent) at the time. The rate declined to 18.8 percent in 2022 and 17.4 percent in the first half of 2023, but still remains above the national average along with other districts such as Seo-gu (16.5 percent), Jung-gu (14.6 percent), and Dong-gu (14.1 percent).
Hot Picks Today
"Even New York Taxi Drivers Are Talking About the KOSPI; South Korean Market to Top 9,000 Again Within a Year"... 'Wall Street's Stock-Picking Ace' Names His Picks
- "Over 1 Trillion Won Poured Into 3x Semiconductor ETF"... But the No. 2 and No. 3 Picks Are Unexpected
- “Made 2 Billion Won in One Year in Prison,” PPP Lawmaker Retorts: “If You’re Jealous, Go There Yourself”
- “Washing Dishes and Folding Clothes 200 Times a Day”... China’s “Robot Trainers” Earn Up to 1.2 Million Won a Month
- "Shall We Grab a Drink?" KRW 30,000 a Round... Young Adults: "Prices Make My Hands Shake; I Can't Drink Out"
Additionally, according to a survey released in May 2026 by the Daegu-Gyeongbuk University Student and Youth Labor Survey Group, the share of young workers in Daegu-Gyeongbuk who experienced labor law violations increased from 41 percent in 2025 to 51.66 percent in the same period in 2026—an increase of approximately 10 percentage points in just one year.
© The Asia Business Daily. All rights reserved. Unauthorized AI training and use prohibited.
