Rep. Yeom Tae-young Shakes Up Construction Site Wage Arrears System

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-sung] Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party (Suwon District) announced that systematic improvements aimed at dramatically reducing wage arrears at construction sites are being pursued in earnest.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold a legislative notice for amendments to the 'Enforcement Regulations of the Construction Industry Basic Act' from December 19 to January 28, 2026, and the Public Procurement Service plans to begin disbursing public construction project payments in accordance with the improved standards from March 30 next year once the amendment procedures are completed.

The core of this amendment is to strengthen the direct payment function by the orderer in the Public Procurement Service's 'Subcontract Keeper' system, which is widely used in public construction projects. Among the construction payments disbursed by the orderer, worker wages and material and equipment payments will be improved to be paid directly to individual workers and material and equipment suppliers without going through the primary contractor or secondary contractor. Additionally, as the approval procedures of the primary contractor are deleted from the subcontract payment process, it is expected that the risk of wage arrears resulting from financial circumstances or garnishment of primary and secondary contractors can be significantly reduced.

During the National Assembly's Audit of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in October, Rep. Yeom strongly demanded that the direct payment method, whose effectiveness has been verified, be expanded to public construction sites in general, noting that approximately 1.6 trillion won in wage arrears occurred only at sites where the 'Subcontract Keeper' was applied from 2021 to the first half of this year, while not a single case of arrears occurred at sites where the Korean Railroad Corporation's 'Zero Arrears' system was applied.

Subsequently, through consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and related agencies, Rep. Yeom continuously raised issues to ensure that the direct payment method by the orderer, the core function of the 'Zero Arrears' system, could be reflected in the 'Subcontract Keeper,' and this amendment to the enforcement regulations is the first institutional outcome of such efforts.

Rep. Yeom Tae-young stated, "Wage arrears is not simply a contractual issue but a crime that destroys people's livelihoods," and emphasized, "I repeatedly requested the government to expedite implementation so that the system can be firmly established before the holiday season when arrears are frequent."

Rep. Yeom stated, "We will not stop at system improvement and will continue to ensure through supplementary legislation that the wage arrears problem disappears completely."