A total of 457 public organizations and private companies failed to comply with disability employment obligations, the labor ministry said Wednesday, with Prada Korea found to have had zero disability employment for over 10 years.

Under the act on the employment promotion for people with disabilities enacted in 1991, public institutions are required to have 3.6 percent of their workforce comprising workers with disabilities. The rate required for private firms is 3.1 percent.

Those violating the rule are subject to a fine, called the handicapped employment levy, of at least 1.2 million won ($922) per person that they are required to hire. But critics have said the amount is too small, leading to many opting to pay the fine.

A list of entities in noncompliance included 29 public institutions and 428 private firms.

The list encompasses public institutions falling short of the 3.6 percent disability employment requirement at the end of 2022 and private firms with 300 or more employees whose workforce rates of disabled people hover below 1.55 percent, which is half of the corporate requirement rate of 3.1 percent.

Among them were the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the National Fire Agency, the county governments of Ulleung and Bonghwa, and the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science.

Among those on the private side were 25 affiliates of conglomerate groups, including LG Management Development Institute, Asiana IDT Inc. and Kolon Pharma.

A total of 65 entities, including Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., Citibank Korea and Dongguk University, have made it to the annual list for the 10th consecutive year.

In particular, four companies -- Prada Korea, AstraZeneca Korea, Sindoh and Kumsung Publishing -- had a zero rate of employees with disabilities.

In particular, Prada Korea, the Korean branch of the Italian luxury fashion house Prada, has maintained a zero rate of disability employment for over 10 years. With a workforce of 733 people at the end of 2022, the firm is obligated to employ at least 22 people with disabilities.

On the other hand, Zara Retail Korea Co., the Korean branch of the Spanish namesake clothing chain, achieved a disability employment rate of 2.7 percent within a single year following a zero rate the previous year, the ministry said. (Yonhap)