The table to make first when you receive a summons from the labor office

When a former employee files a petition with the labor office, the employer receives a summons. The moment it arrives, you feel offended, wondering whether you have become a criminal, and want to call the employee to have it out. It is better not to make that call, because it may look like pressure to withdraw the petition. Use that time instead to make a single table.

What you owe and what you paid, side by side

What the labor inspector checks is, in the end, numbers. They will ask in turn about the wage structure in the employment contract, the actual working hours and the amounts already paid. If you make a table of what should have been paid and what was actually paid for each period, and separate the amounts you accept from those you dispute, the investigation becomes much smoother.

• Employment contract and wage statements
• Salary transfer records
• Clock-in and clock-out records, access records, POS login records
• Time stamps in work messenger apps

If you are disputing overtime hours, you must respond with objective records, not memory. If the employer only says, “They never worked that late,” the matter is easily settled according to the employee's claims. If you rely on a comprehensive wage agreement (포괄임금 약정), we also look at how that agreement is written in the employment contract.

Making the table sometimes reveals amounts the company had not thought of. Typical examples are annual leave allowances and allowances left out of the severance pay calculation. If you pay the parts you accept first and leave only the parts you dispute, the tone of the investigation changes.

Many employers talk at length in front of the inspector about the employee's attitude or how they left. The hurt feelings are understandable, but they have nothing to do with whether wages are in arrears and do not help the investigation. It is better to say less and answer with the table and records.

How a petition case proceeds

If arrears are confirmed, the inspector orders payment by a set deadline. If you pay within that time, the matter usually ends as an administrative procedure, but if you do not, it turns into a criminal case, and the employer may be questioned as a suspect and referred to the prosecution. Failing to comply with a summons can also lead to an administrative fine (Article 116(2) of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법)), so if the date does not work, call to ask for it to be rescheduled.

Wages for an employee who has left must be paid within 14 days of departure, after which late payment interest of 20 percent per year applies. This means the longer the investigation drags on, the more you will have to pay.

What changes from October 8

From October 8, 2026, the statutory penalty for wage and severance arrears rises to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won (Article 107 of the Labor Standards Act). For arrears arising before then, the standard is the statutory penalty at the time of the act: imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. The structure under which no indictment can be filed once the affected employee states that they do not want the employer punished is maintained, but there is an exception for employers whose names have been publicly disclosed for wage arrears and who fall into arrears again during the disclosure period.

That is why, in practice, many settlements combine payment with obtaining the employee's statement that they do not want the employer punished (처벌불원). The settlement agreement states the amount and date of payment, the date of each installment if paid in installments, and the wording that the employee does not want punishment. Showing a payment plan first, rather than asking for the statement of non-punishment first, works better in the end.