Gentle Monster and Samjeong Accounting Firm Found in Wage Violations

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has uncovered wage arrears totaling approximately 1 billion won at AI Combine and Samjeong Accounting Firm, where allegations of long working hours and unpaid labor have been raised. The firms were found to have improperly managed working hours and failed to pay for actual hours worked despite operating under a discretionary labor system and fixed overtime pay.
On July 1, the ministry announced that it had issued corrective orders and imposed fines following inspections of AI Combine and Samjeong Accounting Firm.
At AI Combine, which operates Gentle Monster, a total of 12 legal violations were identified. The ministry issued 10 corrective orders and imposed two fines totaling 5.8 million won. The wage arrears amounted to 430 million won.
The company failed to pay 340 million won in night and holiday work allowances to 279 discretionary workers and 90 million won in overtime, night, and holiday work allowances to 185 non-discretionary workers. Additionally, 115 violations of overtime restrictions, including exceeding 12 hours of overtime per week, were detected.
Violations of maternity protection laws were also confirmed, including requiring pregnant discretionary workers to work night shifts without approval from the labor minister and assigning overtime to workers who had not yet completed one year postpartum. A fine was imposed for cases where spousal parental leave was granted for fewer than 20 days.
However, the ministry did not deem the introduction and overall operation of the discretionary labor system for designer workers to be illegal. The company recognized some improper operations in certain departments during the inspections and abolished the discretionary labor system on February 9, replacing it with a flexible working hours system.
At Samjeong Accounting Firm, 13 legal violations were identified. The ministry issued 11 corrective orders and imposed five fines totaling 14 million won. The arrears amounted to 630 million won. Samjeong failed to pay 540 million won in night and holiday work allowances to 2,140 discretionary workers and 87 million won in overtime, night, holiday work allowances, and unused annual leave to 489 non-discretionary workers.
Notably, the management of working hours was found to be unorganized, with many instances of actual overtime not being recorded. The ministry confirmed unpaid allowances by cross-referencing work seat reservation records and corporate credit card usage.
The discretionary labor system does not exempt employers from managing working hours. Even if there is discretion in work methods, basic provisions of the Labor Standards Act, such as night and holiday work allowances, maternity protection, and overtime limits, still apply. Furthermore, long working hours or unpaid allowances cannot be justified simply because workers are in professional roles, and compensation for actual hours worked and health protection must be managed separately, especially during peak work periods like audit seasons.
The ministry noted that both companies utilized fixed overtime pay while failing to properly record and manage actual working hours, leading to the violations. Consequently, they were guided to actively improve in accordance with comprehensive wage guidelines.
Additionally, as issues of overwork at accounting firms have been repeatedly raised during audit periods, the ministry plans to hold follow-up meetings to discuss improvement measures targeting major accounting firms.
Meanwhile, to eradicate long working hour practices, the ministry will conduct a '2026 Long Working Hours Planned Inspection' at 100 workplaces nationwide starting today. The targets include workplaces that have repeatedly applied for special overtime or utilize shift systems where violations are suspected.
During this inspection, labor authorities will focus on compliance with legal overtime limits, payment of overtime, night, and holiday allowances, adherence to approved special overtime hours, and the provision of adequate rest periods to ensure health protection. Additionally, workplaces found to be in violation will face legal and administrative actions. Workplaces demonstrating a willingness to improve will receive support for restructuring work systems through workplace innovation consulting.
Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated, "Long working hours threaten workers' work-life balance and health rights, as well as negatively impact corporate productivity. To ensure workers' health rights and reduce actual working hours, establishing laws and principles on-site is paramount. We will strictly address habitual violators while also providing government support to improve unreasonable long working hour practices."



* This article has been translated by AI.

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