Unpaid Wage Guarantee Payment (대지급금) in Korea for Foreign Workers

If an employer in Korea owes wages, retirement benefits, shutdown allowance, or maternity-leave-period pay and the statutory conditions are met, Korea's wage-claim guarantee system (임금채권보장제도) may pay part of the arrears on the employer's behalf.

The payment is called guarantee payment (대지급금). Older materials may still call it 체당금.

This is not the same thing as a normal wage-arrears complaint. The guarantee-payment system has its own claim routes, caps, and deadlines.

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What Are the Two Routes for Wage Recovery?

Insolvency guarantee payment

Insolvency guarantee payment (도산대지급금) is for retired workers when one of these has happened:

• Rehabilitation proceedings have commenced
• Bankruptcy has been declared
• The Ministry of Employment and Labor has recognized insolvency (도산등사실인정)

The employer must also meet the legal employer conditions. For the standard insolvency route, Easy Law says the employer must have been covered by the Wage Claim Guarantee Act and have operated the business for at least 6 months before one of the insolvency reasons happened.

Simplified guarantee payment

Simplified guarantee payment (간이대지급금) can apply when unpaid wages have been confirmed through:

• A final judgment, payment order, settlement, mediation, or similar result requiring the employer to pay unpaid wages
• A 체불 임금등·사업주 확인서 issued by the Minister of Employment and Labor

This route is not limited to classic bankruptcy. It is still capped, and it still has strict filing windows.

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What Does the Wage Guarantee Fund Cover?

For retired workers, the covered scope includes:

• Final 3 months of unpaid wages
• Final 3 years of unpaid retirement benefits
• Final 3 months of unpaid shutdown allowance
• Final 3 months of unpaid maternity-leave-period pay

For current workers, the covered scope is narrower. It looks back from the last wage arrears before the lawsuit, petition, complaint, accusation, or similar filing, and it covers unpaid wages and listed allowances in that 3-month window.

These are scopes, not promises of full recovery. Caps apply.

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Caps

The government does not pay unlimited arrears.

As of the Easy Law page current on 2026-05-15, the insolvency guarantee payment cap varies by the worker's age at retirement and by item:

For maternity-leave-period pay, Easy Law lists a 3,100,000 KRW monthly cap.

For simplified guarantee payment, Easy Law lists:

Check the current Easy Law or law.go.kr page before filing, because cap tables can change.

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Deadlines

Do not treat "wage claim" as one single deadline. 대지급금 deadlines depend on the route.

For insolvency guarantee payment (도산대지급금), Easy Law says the claim must be submitted within 2 years from the rehabilitation commencement decision, bankruptcy declaration, or insolvency recognition date.

For simplified guarantee payment (간이대지급금):

• If the claim is based on a judgment or equivalent result, submit within 1 year from that result.
• If the claim is based on a 체불 임금등·사업주 확인서, submit within 6 months from the date the confirmation was first issued.

There are also earlier trigger windows. For example, Easy Law says a retired worker using the court-result route must have brought the lawsuit or equivalent proceeding within 2 years after the day following retirement, and the confirmation-certificate route uses a 1-year window for the petition, complaint, accusation, or similar filing after retirement.

If your deadline might be close, call 1350 or ask the labor office before guessing.

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Can Foreign Workers Use the Wage Guarantee Fund?

Foreign workers can use Korea's wage-arrears routes.

Easy Law's foreign-worker wage page says a foreign worker who has not been paid wages can ask for unpaid wages to be paid through a petition (진정) or request punishment through a complaint (고소). It also says the filing can be made online through the labor portal or in person after consultation at the customer-support office of the labor office with jurisdiction over the workplace.

For 대지급금, the same Easy Law page says that if a foreign worker cannot be helped through wage-arrears guarantee insurance, the worker can claim unpaid-wage guarantee payment from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service within the scope of the Wage Claim Guarantee Act.

That is the safe rule: foreign-worker claims are possible, but the result depends on the wage-guarantee statute's worker, employer, deadline, route, and cap conditions.

This guide does not verify immigration-enforcement practice. If your visa or stay status is sensitive, get labor advice and immigration advice before deciding what to file.

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How Do I Start a Wage Guarantee Claim?

If the employer is insolvent

Ask whether the case fits 도산대지급금. You will usually need proof of the insolvency event or recognition, plus proof of the unpaid wages and your employment relationship.

The claim is submitted to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (근로복지공단), and the insolvency route passes through the local labor office head for the workplace.

If wages are confirmed but the employer is not in bankruptcy

Ask whether the case fits 간이대지급금. Depending on the route, you may need a court result or a 체불 임금등·사업주 확인서.

If you only know that wages are unpaid

Start with a wage-arrears petition or complaint (임금체불 진정/고소). You can file online through the labor portal or visit the labor office for the workplace.

The foreign-worker wage page also lists civil routes such as provisional attachment, small-claims trial, civil litigation, and compulsory execution, but those are separate from the 대지급금 filing route.

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1350 And Legal Help

Call 1350 for Ministry of Employment and Labor consultation. The official 1350 phone guide lists weekday 09:00-18:00 hours, says the phone charge is paid, and documents foreign-language phone 상담 for English and Chinese.

For wage arrears, Easy Law says foreign workers whose final 3 months' average monthly wage at the time of arrears was under 4,000,000 KRW can receive free legal aid from the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단), including legal consultation and litigation representation. It lists 132 as the consultation phone number.

If you want a private lawyer who works in your language, Seoulstart's legal directory lists English-speaking legal help in Korea.

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What To Do Next

1. Decide which situation you are in: insolvency, confirmed unpaid wages, or unpaid wages that still need a labor-office complaint.
2. Collect proof: contract, wage statements, bank deposits, work messages, employer details, and any court or labor-office document.
3. If the employer is still operating and simply has not paid, file a wage-arrears petition or complaint first.
4. If insolvency or wage confirmation exists, ask the labor office, 근로복지공단, or 1350 which 대지급금 route and deadline apply.
5. Check the current cap table before estimating what you will receive.

For the broader picture of what you are owed when leaving a job in Korea, including severance pay rules and how to calculate retirement benefits (퇴직급여), see the Severance Pay Guide.

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FAQ

Can foreign workers use the Wage Guarantee Fund?

Foreign workers with unpaid wages can use the labor-office wage-arrears route, and Easy Law says foreign workers who cannot be helped through wage-arrears guarantee insurance can claim 대지급금 within the Wage Claim Guarantee Act scope. Coverage still depends on the same worker, employer, claim-route, deadline, and cap rules. If your status is complicated, ask 1350 or the labor office before assuming the answer.

Is 대지급금 only for bankrupt employers?

No. 도산대지급금 is for rehabilitation, bankruptcy, or official insolvency recognition. 간이대지급금 can also apply when unpaid wages are confirmed through specified court results or a 체불 임금등·사업주 확인서.

How much can I recover?

For retired workers, the covered scope includes final 3 months of wages and final 3 years of retirement benefits, plus other listed items, but caps apply. As of the Easy Law page current on 2026-05-15, simplified guarantee payment is capped at 7,000,000 KRW for wages and 7,000,000 KRW for retirement benefits, with a 10,000,000 KRW total cap.

What are the main deadlines?

For 도산대지급금, claim within 2 years from the rehabilitation, bankruptcy, or insolvency-recognition date. For simplified court-result claims, claim within 1 year from the judgment or equivalent result. For simplified confirmation-certificate claims, claim within 6 months from the first issue date of the 체불 임금등·사업주 확인서.

Where do I start if my employer still exists but will not pay?

Start with a wage-arrears petition or complaint through the labor portal or the local labor office for the workplace. Foreign workers can ask for unpaid wages to be paid and can also request punishment for a Labor Standards Act violation.

Does this guide prove that filing has no immigration consequences?

No. This guide verifies labor-payment routes, not immigration-enforcement practice. If your visa or stay status is sensitive, get advice from the labor office and immigration before deciding how to proceed.

@misc{seoulstart-korea-unpaid-wage-guarantee-fund-guide,
  author = {{Seoulstart Editorial Team}},
  title = {{Unpaid Wage Guarantee Payment (대지급금) in Korea for Foreign Workers}},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Seoulstart},
  url = {https://seoulstart.com/guides/korea-unpaid-wage-guarantee-fund-guide},
  note = {Last updated June 6, 2026}
}