An official who once worked at a North Korean construction company in Russia is now embroiled in conflict over unpaid wages with workers formerly under his charge, Daily NK learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Monday that “a man surnamed Kim, who had been a manager at a North Korean construction company in Russia, recently received orders to return to North Korea. After he returned to his home in Pyongyang’s Mangyongdae District, however, the construction workers who had also returned alongside him began gathering outside his house every day to pressure him into paying [their overdue wages].”
After Kim Jong Un gained power in 2012, his government instructed managers of overseas laborers to keep records of monthly wages and hand over the entirety of workers’ pay once they return home, replacing the previous practice of paying workers on a regular basis.
The source said that this lump-sum-upon-return policy was put in place out of concern that workers may try to defect when they get paid or might resist doing their assigned work in favor of pursuing more lucrative outside jobs.
Kim, the manager, also adhered to the policy of keeping his workers’ wages until their return home. When it came time for Kim to return to North Korea, however, he continued making excuses to push off making payments and returned to Pyongyang without paying his workers. These same workers then sought him out in Pyongyang and have been kicking up a fuss to demand their unpaid wages.
“Kim’s home in Mangyongdae has been utterly destroyed. Instead of returning to their own homes, the workers went to Kim’s house and kicked up a huge fuss. They robbed his house in an effort to blackmail him into paying their overdue wages, even if he had to sell his house to do it. Word is going around that Kim has actually put the house up for sale.
“Kim is saying that he ‘turned over the ledger and all of the money to the next manager [in Russia],’ but many people suspect that he lined his own pockets with the workers’ wages instead.”
The fight between Kim and the unpaid workers caused Kim’s wife to faint from the shock. Local government and law enforcement authorities have drawn a line between themselves and the problem, saying it is an “issue between [private] individuals” – this despite the “anti-socialist” nature of the workers’ extortion of the Kims’ private property and the sale of a residence. Locals have criticized the indifference of the authorities as just “standing by and watching a capitalist spectacle unfold.”
“People are saying that the incident is ‘clearly capitalistic’ and ‘you have to arrest people who act that way.’ Neighborhood offices and local police are aware of the matter, but have been asserting that ‘[this is a conflict] between individuals and not an affair where government officials should intervene.’ People in the area have been unimpressed with the response of the authorities, saying ‘even if it is a personal matter, it’s happening in their jurisdiction, so how can they act like it’s none of their business?’”
One observer expressed their sympathies and frustration with the incident: “[It’s sad to see] people who had once lived and slept under the same roof turn their claws on each other.”
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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