The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Legal Aid Corp. said Monday they will provide litigation support to help freelancers and platform workers recover unpaid wages.
These workers are often not classified as employees under current law, making it difficult for them to access existing wage recovery mechanisms.
According to the Labor Ministry, the issue was repeatedly raised during roundtable discussions held between July and October last year. Also, during a series of on-site visits conducted from October to November, workers most frequently cited difficulties related to wage payments and contractual arrangements.
In response, the ministry signed an agreement with the Legal Aid Corp. to support the recovery of unpaid earnings for these workers through legal consultations and free legal assistance.
Under the program, applicants may submit an application either online or by visiting a Legal Aid Corp. office after making a reservation, along with documentation proving unpaid wages.
The ministry said eligible evidence includes platform activity logs, payment records, contracts, work deliverables, email correspondence and documents verifying teaching or lecture history.
Following a fact-finding review, eligible applicants will receive free legal representation from the corporation’s legal professionals in civil lawsuits. The Labor Ministry will cover attorney and litigation fees incurred through the process.
The initiative comes amid a sweeping overhaul of South Korea’s labor laws aimed at bringing an estimated 8.7 million workers — including freelancers and platform workers — into the formal labor system.
The government and the Democratic Party of Korea recently submitted a framework bill on workers’ rights to the National Assembly, along with amendments to the Labor Standards Act, citing the limits of traditional employment definitions amid the digital transformation and the rapid expansion of the platform economy.
The legislation marks the first major labor reform initiative of the current administration and is expected to move forward around May 1, or Labor Day.
At the center of the reform package is a proposed “presumption of employee status” system, under which workers would be presumed to be employees once the provision of labor is established, unless employers can prove otherwise.
A companion bill, tentatively titled the Framework Act on the Rights of Working People, would guarantee baseline protections for those not formally recognized as employees.
"Few things are more unjust than working and not being paid," said Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon. "The government will work to establish a robust institutional safety net through the proposed framework law while continuing to expand financial support programs that workers can immediately feel."
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
