Media Labor Rights Center Calls Out Production Companies For Not Complying With Labor Laws

Hanbit Media Labor Rights Center (hereafter Hanbit Center) has stated that several dramas and their production companies have not been adhering to labor laws and guidelines.

On October 30, Hanbit Center reported several companies to be in violation of the Labor Standards Act to the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration. The companies included CJ ENM, Studio Dragon, Kim Jong Hak Production, iWILL Media, and CRAVE Works.

Though Hanbit Center had established a production guideline last July that restricted the total number of working hours in one week to be 68 hours, the center revealed that dramas such as “The Player” and “The Guest” have habitually carried out long shoots of up to 100 hours a week.

According to Hanbit Center, in the case of OCN drama “The Player,” on October 9 at 9 p.m. KST, a camera staff member suddenly fainted due to continuous labor. The staff member was sent to the emergency room in an ambulance. Some of the staff members revealed that as they were paid their wages per episode, they received the same wages whether they worked eights hours or 23 hours.

In the case of OCN drama “The Guest,” the drama violated the Labor Standards Act by using 87 hours and 35 minutes of labor in the second week of October, and 95 hours and 40 minutes in the third week. The Hanbit Center claimed that the respective staff members also hadn’t been paid for their overtime hours or for working off-site.

Hanbit Center also reported that tvN’s “Room No. 9” held a 20-hour long shoot on October 1, without the consent of the workers, and that OCN’s “Priest” forced one staff member into filming all night long.

A source from the Hanbit Center stated, “To improve the production environment of dramas, we provided production guidelines to CJ ENM and Studio Dragon. However, they are not abiding by them at all. We demand that the Ministry of Employment and Labor quickly investigate and deal severe punishment.”

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