Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon apologized over allegations of unpaid work involving young designers at eyewear brand Gentle Monster and pledged to draw up a comprehensive set of measures. With similar cases recurring despite the government's stated policy of strict enforcement, he signaled plans to step up inspections for labor law violations at companies and workplaces favored by young job seekers.
Speaking at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee on the 13th, Kim responded to criticism from Rep. Kim Joo-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who highlighted poor working conditions for young employees in the Seongsu-dong area of Seoul's Seongdong District, including excessive overtime at Gentle Monster. "We said we would respond sternly to the problem of unpaid work, so I am deeply sorry that these criticisms have surfaced again," the minister said.
The audit focused on Gentle Monster's use of the discretionary work system. Earlier this year, the ministry's targeted inspection of IICOMBINED, the company that operates Gentle Monster, uncovered 12 labor law violations, including unpaid overtime allowances. The ministry did not, however, issue a separate ruling on whether its operation of the discretionary work system was unlawful.
Citing a ministry survey conducted to assess the appropriateness of the discretionary work system, in which 84.6% of respondents covered by the arrangement said their start and end times were fixed, the lawmaker questioned whether workers had any real discretion in carrying out their duties. Because the system is meant to give employees discretion over how they perform their work and how they allocate their time, he argued, strictly controlling start and end times may run counter to its purpose.
"After the targeted inspection of IICOMBINED, the unpaid wages were paid, but the criteria for calculating allowances were not properly examined," the lawmaker said, urging the ministry to further verify the standards used to calculate the back pay.
Working conditions at other companies popular with young people clustered in Seongsu-dong also came under scrutiny. The lawmaker pointed to cases beyond Gentle Monster, including violations of overtime limits at fashion platform Musinsa, saying long hours and compensation disputes keep recurring even at sought-after employers. As Seongsu-dong has emerged as an up-and-coming business district drawing large numbers of young workers, he said, the blind spots in labor law enforcement there must be addressed.
"We will immediately carry out targeted inspections and other steps regarding the many new forms of basic labor order violations occurring in Seongsu-dong," the minister said. "We will draw up a comprehensive set of measures to eradicate unpaid work so that labor standards are not undermined at the workplaces young people prefer and at their first jobs."