Making a Complaint in Korea

Korean complaint processes work, they are free to start, and foreign workers win with them regularly. What decides the outcome is almost never the argument. It is the evidence, gathered before the relationship broke down.

So the most useful thing on this page is the first section, and it applies whether or not you currently have a problem.

Gather this now, not later

From your first week, independent of anything your employer or landlord keeps:

• Your contract or lease, in the language you signed it in.
• Payslips and bank statements showing what actually arrived, not what was promised.
• Your own daily record of hours worked. Handwritten or on your phone; both are accepted.
• Photographs of your accommodation on move-in, and of any workplace condition that concerns you.
• Messages. Do not delete the chat thread with your manager or landlord. Screenshot it.
• Names and dates, including witnesses.

A claim with records usually succeeds. The same claim without them is your word against theirs, and that is a much worse position regardless of who is telling the truth.

Which body handles what

Dispute	Where it goes
Unpaid or late wages, unpaid overtime, unpaid severance	Labour office complaint, free
Unfair dismissal, unfair disciplinary action	Labour relations commission, within a time limit
Workplace injury and compensation	Industrial accident insurance claim
Harassment, including sexual harassment	Internal procedure, then the labour authorities or human rights body
Discrimination	Human rights commission
Housing deposit withheld	Lease dispute committee, or the courts
Small money claims generally	Simplified court procedure
Visa or status consequences of any of the above	Immigration, plus advice

Most of these accept a complaint without a lawyer and at no cost, and several provide interpretation. Legal consultation covers getting help with the filing.

Unpaid wages

The most common serious dispute, and a solvable one.

File a complaint with the labour office covering your workplace. An inspector investigates, calls both parties, and can order payment; refusal exposes the employer to penalty. There is a free counselling line to start from, and a time limit on wage claims, so do not let it drift for a year.

Two things to hold the line on. Do not accept part of what you are owed in exchange for leaving quietly - you are entitled to all of it. And do not let the dispute push you into losing your status, because that converts one problem into two. If the employer's conduct is the reason you need to move workplace, that is generally an employer-fault transfer rather than one counted against your allowance. Worker rights covers that, and foreign workers covers the pressure in full.

A withheld housing deposit

Landlords commonly want the next tenant found before releasing your money, which is normal practice, not a right to hold it indefinitely.

Your position rests on two filings you ideally made when you moved in: the move-in report and the confirmed date on your lease, which together give your deposit a priority claim. With those, you have an enforceable position. Without them you are an unsecured creditor.

Start with written notice, then the lease dispute route, then court. Photographs taken on move-in are what defeat deductions for damage that was already there. Housing covers the protections in detail.

Unfair dismissal

Qualifying employees cannot be dismissed without just cause and proper written notice stating the reason. A challenge goes to the labour relations commission, which can order reinstatement or compensation.

The time limit is short and runs from the dismissal, so this is the dispute where delay is most costly. Get advice within days, not weeks. Keep the dismissal notice, and if you were not given one in writing, note that fact, because it matters.

Harassment and discrimination

Use the internal procedure first where one exists; employers above a certain size must have one, and retaliation against a person who reports is itself unlawful.

Where the internal route is the problem, or the employer is the harasser, go externally to the labour authorities or the human rights body. Keep a contemporaneous record with dates and witnesses, which in practice is what these cases turn on.

What the process feels like

Useful to know in advance, because the uncertainty is what stops people filing.

You submit a complaint, usually on a form, with your evidence attached. The body contacts the other party and typically calls both of you in, sometimes together. An inspector or officer asks questions, reads the documents, and in many cases the matter resolves at that stage because the employer or landlord pays once an official is involved.

Expect weeks rather than days, and expect at least one appointment you must attend in person. Interpretation can be arranged; ask for it when you file rather than turning up hoping.

If it does not resolve, the next step is a formal decision or a court claim, and that is the point at which representation is worth paying for. Legal consultation covers when to make that switch.

What it costs you to pursue one

Honestly: time, and some discomfort. The filings themselves are free or cheap, and interpretation is available. The real costs are the weeks it takes and working alongside the other party while it runs.

What it should not cost you is your status. Get advice early about the immigration consequences of any route you take, because the people who end up worst off are usually those who tried to resolve it alone and left a workplace without documenting why.

Where this goes wrong

• No records. The single biggest predictor of losing.
• Deleting the message thread.
• Missing the time limit, especially on dismissal.
• Settling for part of unpaid wages to end the discomfort.
• Going undocumented in the middle of a dispute.
• Never contacting a support centre, which is free and does this weekly.

Where to go next

Legal consultation covers who will help you file, and payment covers what you are actually owed.