Seongsu-dong in Seoul's Seongdong District has emerged as a magnet for young talent and a new business hub, but the young workers drawn there say they are pressed into unpaid overtime in poor conditions. As fast-growing companies such as Gentle Monster and Musinsa have set up shop in the neighborhood, complaints of long hours, unpaid wages and workplace harassment have risen among young employees. Lawmakers say the government must step up oversight to close the gaps in labor protection hidden behind the district's glossy expansion.
Wage arrear complaints filed against workplaces in Seongdong District rose 136.3% in three years, from 1,505 in 2022 to 3,551 last year, according to data submitted by the Labor Ministry's Seoul Eastern Branch Office to Rep. Kim Joo-young of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 12th. Unpaid wages accounted for the largest share at 2,165 cases, followed by severance pay at 1,300 and other allowances at 86. Workplace harassment complaints totaled 279 last year, up 282.2% from 73 in 2022.
Narrowed to workers in their 20s and 30s, labor complaints rose 46.4%, from 550 in 2022 to 805 last year. Through August this year, 452 complaints had been filed, averaging more than 56 a month. By category last year, unpaid wages led with 678 cases, followed by workplace harassment at 121. Seongdong is a district where young workers cluster — those in their 20s and 30s made up 62.2%, or 47,088 people, of all workers who enrolled in employment insurance there last year.
Once lined with aging factories and warehouses, Seongsu-dong grew into a cultural and tourist destination as trend-setting pop-up stores and well-known cafes moved in. More recently, promising companies such as IICOMBINED, which operates Gentle Monster, and Musinsa have arrived, broadening the area into a business district that draws young talent. Working conditions, however, have not kept pace with that growth, exposing the harsh reality of youth employment.
"While Seongsu-dong has grown into a new industrial hub, the basic rights of young workers have been pushed aside," Kim said. "I will call on the government to conduct thorough oversight so that labor conditions at workplaces where young people are concentrated can be examined closely."
72% of Gentle Monster's Discretionary-Hour Workers Exceed 52-Hour Week; Complaints Draw "No Passion" Label
Unreasonable labor practices in Seongsu-dong also surfaced in government surveys of individual companies. In an organizational culture survey of IICOMBINED employees conducted by the ministry's Seoul Eastern Branch Office in February this year, 71.8% of workers under discretionary hours said they work beyond 52 hours a week during busy periods. Some 25.4% reported average weekly hours of 61 to 70, and 17.7% reported 71 hours or more.
One IICOMBINED employee said in the anonymous survey that while "the building and facilities look like those of an advanced company, employees struggle because of long hours and excessive workloads." The employee added, "When I see colleagues working until 11 p.m., midnight or dawn, I wonder whether a company this abnormal can exist." Night and holiday work had become routine inside the organization even as the company rapidly expanded, and proper compensation was not provided.
Employee complaints centered on long hours and an internal structure that makes it hard to be paid for the work performed. In the survey, 87.8% of discretionary workers said overtime occurred almost daily (61.3%) or three to four times a week (26.5%) during busy periods. Yet 47% said they had not received overtime pay and 72.9% said they had not received night-shift pay. The share reporting unpaid holiday work premiums was also high, at 81.8%. According to the results of a targeted ministry inspection released in July, IICOMBINED was found to have withheld 430 million won ($300,000) in wages, including night and holiday premiums, from 464 employees.
Demands to fix opaque personnel evaluations and a closed organizational culture were also widespread. Although Gentle Monster built brand recognition among younger consumers with free-spirited, original designs, employees said that internally, personnel standards and performance-reward systems are opaque and that it is difficult even to speak up to correct problems. Asked which changes were most urgent, discretionary workers cited adequate overtime pay (50%), sufficient staffing (49.2%) and clearer personnel evaluation criteria (44.2%). Multiple answers were allowed. Another employee said, "There is a strong atmosphere in which complaining about work or meetings outside set hours gets you labeled as an employee without passion."
"This survey revealed the harsh reality of overwork and unpaid labor by young workers that had been hidden behind Gentle Monster's growth," Kim said. "Expanding jobs and improving youth employment through new hiring matter, but reviewing and managing job quality and compliance with basic labor law must come first."
Musinsa Also Exceeded Overtime Cap by 2,903 Hours; Violations Concentrated at Small Firms
The problem is not confined to a single company. A 2024 ministry labor inspection found that at Musinsa, which is headquartered in Seongsu-dong, 128 workers exceeded the overtime cap by a combined 2,903 hours across 181 instances without being paid. The case was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Labor Standards Act, but prosecutors ultimately declined to indict, finding no grounds for charges.
Notably, violations of young workers' rights are occurring widely regardless of company size. Of the 805 labor complaints filed last year in Seongdong District by workers in their 20s and 30s, 700, or 87.0%, came from workplaces with fewer than 29 employees. Workplaces with 30 to 299 employees accounted for 88 cases and those with 300 or more for 17. Staffing shortages combined with poor treatment appear to have left young workers at small businesses especially exposed.
The picture is no different across Seoul as a whole. In a survey of 500 wage earners aged 20 to 39 working at Seoul workplaces, conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 by pollster Embrain Public on behalf of Kim's office and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, 65.4% of respondents said they had worked more than 40 hours a week over the past three months. Another 18.9% said overtime occurs constantly. Some 33.6% said their workplace has no system for recording working hours, and 57.1% of those who had worked overtime, night or holiday shifts said they had not been properly paid for them.
"The reality that most young people are not fairly compensated for the work they do is evidence that the quality of jobs in our society still has not improved," Kim said. "I will work to improve labor conditions so that young people are not driven into long hours and low pay and can plan a stable future."