Massive Illegal Dispatch Uncovered at Ansan Industrial Complex: 18 Out of 19 Sites Supplied Workers Without Permits

It has been found that more than 95% of companies investigated near the Ansan industrial complex were involved in illegal dispatching of workers. Illegal dispatch was carried out by labor supply agencies, which had not obtained dispatch business permits, sending workers to the production lines of manufacturing companies.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on October 7, labor supervisory inspections targeting 19 labor supply agencies and local manufacturers near the Ansan industrial complex over the past three months uncovered 67 violations of labor laws at 18 workplaces.

A total of 40 cases of illegal dispatch were detected among the 18 workplaces. Ten labor supply agencies illegally dispatched 136 workers to the direct production processes of eight manufacturers. In principle, dispatching workers to the direct production processes of manufacturers is prohibited except under special circumstances, such as a sudden surge in orders.

On the first day of enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act on the 27th, which allows for the punishment of management officials if serious accidents such as worker deaths occur, managers are conducting a safety inspection at an apartment construction site in Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In particular, it was confirmed that eight out of the ten labor supply agencies identified had not even obtained permits for a worker dispatch business. The Ministry of Employment and Labor promptly recognized these agencies as having committed a crime and launched investigations. All eight manufacturers that used illegally dispatched workers were ordered to directly employ all such workers.

Violations related to wages and working hours were also found: there were 27 cases of labor law violations in total, including unpaid annual leave allowances and other payments totaling KRW 162 million, as well as violations of overtime limits. The Ministry plans to run a special reporting period for illegal labor supply agencies until December, considering the possibility that this is not an issue confined to the Ansan region. Additional inspections will be conducted based on further reports.

The Ministry views chronic recruitment difficulties and reliance on external labor as factors behind the ongoing illegal dispatch practices at the Ansan industrial complex. Local companies struggling with labor shortages have been securing external workers through labor supply agencies that lacked proper permits. The Ministry recognizes this issue not just as individual legal infractions but as a problem rooted in the manpower structure of the entire industrial complex, and thus plans to conduct a comprehensive survey and collaborate with the council of labor, management, government and civil society, as well as support groups for non-regular workers.

Seo Myungseok, Director of Labor Standards Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "Labor supply agencies are not exempt from oversight," adding, "We will step up crackdowns on illegal labor supply agencies and proactively support employment structural improvements in industrial complexes to completely eradicate the chronic problem of illegal dispatching."

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