Inspections to focus on firms repeatedly seeking special extended work hours, suspected shift-system violations

Working-hour violations and wage theft to draw strict penalties; workplace reform consulting to follow

Ministry aims to fix structural causes of long working hours, not just punish offenders

Office lights burn late into the night at buildings in Pangyo Technovalley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The area, home to a concentration of IT and gaming companies, is nicknamed "Pangyo squid boat" in the industry for its lights that never seem to go off. [Herald Business DB]
Office lights burn late into the night at buildings in Pangyo Technovalley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The area, home to a concentration of IT and gaming companies, is nicknamed "Pangyo squid boat" in the industry for its lights that never seem to go off. [Herald Business DB]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched a sweeping planned inspection of 100 workplaces suspected of repeatedly using special extended working hours or violating the law in operating shift systems, as part of a broader push to stamp out long-hours work culture.

The ministry said it will strictly penalize working-hour violations and wage theft while simultaneously pushing for structural reforms — linking workplaces to government support programs to address the root causes of excessive overtime.

The ministry announced its "2026 Long Working Hours Planned Inspection" on Tuesday and said inspections at 100 workplaces nationwide would begin the same day. The inspections are part of a semi-annual targeted oversight program under the ministry's comprehensive workplace inspection plan, prompted by growing concerns that long working hours are harming workers' health.

Targeted workplaces include those that have repeatedly applied for special extended working-hour approvals and those suspected of legal violations in their shift operations. The inspections also serve as a follow-up to the "roadmap for reducing actual working hours" agreed upon by labor, management and government in December last year, with a focus on whether approved workplaces are complying with relevant regulations.

Inspectors will examine compliance with the statutory overtime limit and whether workers have received the required premium pay for overtime, night and holiday work. For workplaces that have received special extended working-hour approvals, inspectors will also check whether approved overtime hours were exceeded and whether mandatory rest periods for worker health protection were properly provided.

Workplaces found to have violated the law — through excessive working hours or unpaid wages — will face judicial or administrative action under the labor inspector's duty regulations. However, the ministry said it will go beyond simple punishment and work in parallel to reform the work systems that drive long hours. Workplaces willing to make changes will receive support through a workplace innovation consulting program, and the ministry plans to spread best practices in reducing actual working hours by linking firms to government support projects, including a work-life balance initiative.

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said long working hours "not only threaten workers' work-life balance and right to health, but also have a negative impact on corporate productivity." He added that the ministry would "strictly crack down on habitual violators" while pairing enforcement with government support to reform the culture of excessive overtime, stressing that "upholding the law and principles on the ground is of utmost importance."


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