The Ministry of Employment and Labor asked the prosecution to investigate KT chairman and CEO Lee Suk-chae and 32 branch managers over unpaid salaries and other labor law violations, officials said.

The request was made on May 10 after the ministry conducted a special audit into the company’s labor management between Jan. 30 and Feb. 29, only to find that a total of 150 branches had not paid 3.3 billion won ($2.8 mil.) to their 6,509 workers for overtime or holiday shifts, unused annual leave and other payments, which is a violation of the Labor Standard Act.

The authorities accused the company of not taking or providing training on safety measures at industrial sites or affording special medical checkups for the relevant workers.

Lee was booked on March 19 and the authorities have slapped the nation’s second largest telecommunication company with a 400 million won fine.

Still, labor unionists claimed that the authorities have not looked into their allegations that management has planned an excessive downsizing program, which could be subject to prosecution if not conducted with the consent of the workers’ organization. The union alleged that the KT management made a “sack list” of 1,002 people in 2005, though the program manager has provided sufficient testimony, officials said.

KT, once owned by the government, was privatized in 2002 and underwent a restructuring process in 2003 and 2008, making more than 10,000 workers redundant.

“As a result fewer workers are shouldered with ever-increasing duties and are under extreme anxiety of additional layoffs,” the union said. It claimed that 111 incumbent workers; 96 retired workers aged under 58; and 13 subcontract workers have died of various reasons including suicide, cancer and others since 2006 and a considerable number of them are believed to have been linked with the restructuring program.

KT denied having violated the laws. “We have also improved and corrected things,” the company said in a press release.

It dismissed unionists’ claim of an unsupported all-around layoff program. “KT will cooperate with the prosecution investigation,” a KT spokeswoman said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)