President Moon Jae-in has instructed his officials to actively cooperate with Indonesian law enforcement authorities to go after a South Korean business owner suspected of running away with overdue wages for Indonesian employees.
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in a media briefing on Thursday that Moon gave the instruction to his senior secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk, saying that South Korean firms operating in Southeast Asia should not cause any losses to local employees.
Moon stressed such incidents should not occur as they could damage the relations of trust and cooperation between South Korea and the related countries.
The National Police Agency plans to launch an investigation into the case as soon as the Indonesian authorities or South Korean diplomatic missions in Indonesia hand over documents related to the alleged crime.
The Justice Ministry will also provide assistance for Indonesia based on a bilateral treaty on criminal extradition and judicial cooperation.
The business owner, identified as Kim who had operated a sewing company in Indonesia, was known to have not paid 90 billion Indonesian rupiahs, or around seven-point-two billion Korean won, worth of wages to his employees before disappearing last October.