Wage problems in subcontracting chains

In a subcontracting chain, the key question when wages go unpaid is who to claim from.

Understand the structure

• Client or main contractor → subcontractor → sub-subcontractor is a common chain.
• In principle, the employer who hired you pays your wages.
• However, in construction and similar sectors the main contractor can share liability. If the subcontractor fails to pay, you can sometimes claim from the contractor above.

Whether it applies depends on the sector and case. Always check your own case with 1350.

Records are everything

In a subcontracting chain, even "who the boss is" becomes disputed. Keep the following every day.

1. Site name and address, dates and hours worked
2. Site photos — signage, the building, the work
3. Who gave the instructions — name, contact, company
4. The main contractor's name — often on the site board. Photograph it.
5. Who paid you and from which account — deposit records
6. Contact details of people you worked with — they can be witnesses

If wages go unpaid

1. Organise the evidence.
2. Consult 1350 — interpretation is available.
3. File a complaint with the labour office. Name both the main contractor and the subcontractor.
4. Check the wage guarantee fund too. See wage-guarantee-fund.
5. Small claims litigation is also possible if needed. See wage-claim-small-claims.

Where to go

• 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labour (with interpretation)
• Your local labour office
• 1577-0071 Foreign Workforce Support Centre
• Local migrant workers' support centres
• 1588-0075 Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service

Questions people ask

I don't know who the employer is. Which is exactly why site records matter. Knowing who instructed you and the main contractor's name is often enough for an investigation.

The main contractor says it's nothing to do with them. There are cases where they bear liability under the rules. Consult 1350 to check.

There's no contract. Even without one, wages can be claimed once the fact of work is established. Records and testimony provide the basis.

I was injured at work. Industrial accident cover applies regardless of the subcontracting chain. Claim through 1588-0075. See industrial-accident-report.

Take care

Even if you are told not to photograph the site, at minimum note the site name, address and the name of whoever gave you instructions. In a subcontracting chain, going unpaid with no records at all leaves you unable even to decide who to claim from.

Related

dispatch-worker · unpaid-wages-evidence · wage-guarantee-fund · construction-work-rights · daily-worker-rights

Source

Ministry of Employment and Labour www.moel.go.kr / As of 2026-08