Seoul: Some South Korean employees working for the U.S. Air Force stationed in South Korea did not receive part of their wages for October, a source said Tuesday, raising questions over the cause of the incident.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the workers did not receive wages for the Oct. 1-3 period in their latest stipend for the Sept. 21-Oct. 4 timeframe. South Korean employees working for the Air Force typically receive their wages every two weeks. The three-day period was marked as a furlough, or unpaid leave, but no advance notices or follow-up explanations were provided, the source revealed.
The exact number of affected workers remains unclear, but it appears the majority of employees at the Osan and Gunsan air bases were impacted by this issue. A U.S. 7th Air Force official stated that the accounting office is investigating the cause of the incident but did not provide further details.
This incident coincides with the U.S. government shutdown that began on Oct. 1, following a congressional impasse over a short-term funding measure. Notably, no payment issues were reported for South Korean employees during the previous government shutdown in 2019. The wages of these employees are largely funded by South Korea's share of defense spending, leading to speculation that the issue could be due to a technical glitch.