The current structure of the Labor Standards Act largely exempts businesses with fewer than five employees from key protections. (Image created by AI/ChatGPT)
SEOUL, April 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite growing awareness of labor rights in South Korea, workers at businesses with fewer than five employees continue to face widespread legal exclusion and exploitation, according to a report released Sunday by labor advocacy group Workplace Gapjil 119.
The group highlighted recent consultations with employees at small firms who reported being denied overtime pay and statutory holidays. One worker said their employer refused to compensate for night and overtime hours, arguing that fewer than five people physically work in the office, even though more than ten are listed on the company’s four major insurance records.
Another reported receiving only three days of vacation per year, with no extra pay for working on national holidays or during holiday shifts.
Workplace Gapjil 119 noted that such complaints have become routine, but legal remedies remain limited due to the current structure of the Labor Standards Act, which largely exempts businesses with fewer than five employees from key protections.
These exemptions include limits on working hours, requirements for premium pay for night or holiday work, and protections against unfair dismissal.
“These workplaces are no longer just legal blind spots — they’ve become zones of lawlessness,” the group said in a statement, urging a full application of labor law regardless of workplace size.
A nationwide survey conducted by the organization from February 10 to 17 this year found that workers in small firms identified the 52-hour workweek limit (32.4%) and extra pay for extended, night, or holiday shifts (32.2%) as the most significant losses under the current exemptions.
Among 173 respondents currently employed at sub-five-person businesses, 32.9% cited the lack of overtime pay as the most damaging, followed by the absence of paid public holidays (31.8%).
Jo Joo-hee, a labor attorney with the group, called the legal exclusion of small business workers “unjustifiable discrimination” and pressed for urgent reform. “It’s imperative that the full protections of the Labor Standards Act be extended to cover all workers,” she said, “to close the legal loopholes that continue to expose thousands to abuse.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
