The government has estimated that the amount of unpaid wages last year topped one-thousand-780 billion won to post a new record. 

According to the labor ministry on Thursday, the amount of back wages in 2023 reached one-thousand-784-point-five billion won, up more than 437 billion won from 2022. 

As a result, workers who were unable to collect wages grew from some 237-thousand-500 in 2022 to 275-thousand-430 last year. 

By industry, manufacturers had failed to pay wages, accounting for some 30 percent of total back pay, followed by construction industries. 

The labor ministry said back wages surged particularly among industries related to construction due to a sluggish real estate market, a surge in construction costs resulting from a rise in raw materials and ramifications from interest rate hikes.