The amount of outstanding overdue wages in South Korea has exceeded two trillion won, or around one-point-38 billion U.S. dollars, for the first time in history.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday, the figure for 2024 stood at two-point-zero-four trillion won.

This marks a 14-point-six percent increase from the previous year, when it came to one-point-78 trillion won.

The number of workers owed wages totaled 283-thousand-212, an increase of two-point-eight percent from the previous year.

The ministry attributed the increase to the economic downturn, particularly in the construction industry; an increase in total wages due to the expansion of the economy; and large-scale wage arrears cases at major corporations.

Last year, the amount of overdue wages that were cleared also reached the highest level in history, one-point-67 trillion won, for a liquidation rate of 81-point-seven percent.