韓國的外國工人越來越多地要求獲得加密貨幣的工資

韓國各地的外國工人越來越多地轉向加密貨幣以獲得工資。

Foreign workers in South Korea are increasingly requesting to receive their wages in cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, instead of the local currency.

韓國的外國工人越來越多地要求以加密貨幣（尤其是穩定幣）而不是當地貨幣獲得工資。

In Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do (province), a factory owner in his 50s, identified only as Mr. A, who has operated an auto parts manufacturing plant for over two decades, encountered this shift firsthand.

在Eumseong，50多歲的工廠所有者Chungcheongbuk-do（省）僅確定為A先生，他經營了一家汽車零件製造工廠已有二十年多了，他親自遇到了這一轉變。

In January, he installed a digital wallet on his smartphone after more than 30 foreign employees insisted on being paid in cryptocurrency rather than South Korean won.

一月份，他在30多名外國員工堅持要以加密貨幣而不是韓國贏得獎勵後，在智能手機上安裝了一個數字錢包。

“Our employees can’t go to the bank easily, and I couldn't keep ignoring their requests,” he said.

他說：“我們的員工不能輕易去銀行，我無法忽略他們的要求。”

Foreign workers across South Korea are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency to receive their wages. Many of them work in factories or on farms and had traditionally been paid in cash. But as word spreads that it’s easier and safer to get paid in digital coins, more employers are being drawn into the shift—some willingly, others reluctantly.

韓國各地的外國工人越來越多地轉向加密貨幣以獲得工資。他們中的許多人在工廠或農場工作，傳統上是用現金支付的。但是，隨著言語傳播的是，在數字硬幣中獲得報酬更容易，更安全，更多的雇主被吸引到了轉變中 - 有些人願意，其他人勉強。

According to people in the crypto industry, cryptocurrency is rapidly becoming a form of “official currency” among undocumented foreign workers, who are often unable to open local bank accounts.

根據加密貨幣行業的人們的說法，加密貨幣正迅速成為無證外國工人中的“官方貨幣”形式，他們通常無法開設當地銀行帳戶。

“We’re seeing coins used as a default payment method in those communities,” one industry source said. Previously, workers would hold onto large amounts of cash, waiting until weekends or holidays to send money home via banks or remittance centers. That came with risk.

一位行業消息人士說：“我們認為硬幣在這些社區中用作默認支付方法。”以前，工人會持有大量現金，等到週末或假期通過銀行或匯款中心匯款。這是有風險的。

Late last year, a Nepalese worker in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, reported 10 million won ($7,165) stolen from his dorm room. Afterward, fears of theft spread quickly, especially among workers who live together in shared shipping container-style accommodations.

去年下半年，揚朱（Yangju）的一名尼泊爾工人，貢吉吉（Gyeonggi Do）報告說，1000萬韓元（7,165美元）從他的宿舍裡偷走了。之後，對盜竊的恐懼迅速傳播，尤其是在共享運輸集裝箱式住宿的工人中。

Trust among roommates deteriorated, and workers from India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal came together to propose a solution to their employer: pay us in crypto. Sending cash home also comes with time delays and transaction fees.

室友之間的信任惡化了，來自印度，斯里蘭卡和尼泊爾的工人聚集在一起，向他們的雇主提出解決方案：付給我們的加密貨幣。寄售房屋還帶來了時間延遲和交易費用。

For undocumented workers who can’t open bank accounts, the process often involved asking acquaintances to transfer money on their behalf—a workaround that added its own risks. Using cryptocurrency removes many of these barriers.

對於無法開設銀行帳戶的無證件工人，通常涉及熟人代表他們轉移資金的過程，這增加了其自身風險。使用加密貨幣消除了許多障礙。

“For someone like me without a bank account, it’s a huge relief to have my salary stored safely on my phone,” said a Nepalese worker identified by his surname Bista.

“對於沒有銀行帳戶的人來說，將我的薪水安全存儲在手機上是一種巨大的欣慰，”他的姓氏Bista確定的一名尼泊爾工人說。

Among the many cryptocurrencies available, foreign workers tend to prefer stablecoins—particularly Tether (USDT), which is the most widely circulated with more than 80 billion tokens in existence. Its value remains pegged at $1 per token, making it a trusted option amid volatile foreign exchange markets. With the Korean won fluctuating due to geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing trade conflict between the United States and China, many see dollar-pegged coins as a safe haven.

在許多可用的加密貨幣中，外國工人傾向於更喜歡穩定的鏈球菌（USDT），這是現有超過800億個令牌的循環最廣泛。它的價值仍為每個代幣$ 1，在波動的外匯市場中，它是一個值得信賴的期權。由於朝鮮人的地緣政治緊張局勢，包括美國與中國之間的貿易衝突，韓國人贏得了波動，許多人將美元的硬幣視為避風港。

Workers have begun referring to Tether as “digital dollars.” D, a worker from Myanmar who works at a moving company in Seoul, said they once lost more than $140 due to a sudden dip in the exchange rate during a remittance transfer. “Now that I’m paid in crypto, I don’t worry about exchange rates anymore,” they said. Myanmar’s currency has grown highly unstable since the country entered a prolonged civil conflict in 2021.

工人已經開始將林斯稱為“數字美元”。 D是緬甸的一名工人，他在首爾的一家搬家公司工作，他說，由於匯款轉移期間的匯率突然下跌，他們曾經損失了140多美元。他們說：“現在我用加密貨幣付款了，我不再擔心匯率了。”自從該國於2021年進入長時間的民間衝突以來，緬甸的貨幣已經變得非常不穩定。

The shift toward cryptocurrency isn’t being driven solely by workers. Some employers, worn down by severe labor shortages, are offering it as an incentive.

向加密貨幣的轉變並非僅由工人驅動。一些因嚴重勞動力短缺而磨損的雇主正在將其作為激勵措施。

In Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, a staffing agency official said many business owners now suggest crypto payments upfront when trying to recruit workers. According to the Ministry of Justice, about 2.65 million foreign nationals were residing in South Korea as of 2024, accounting for 5.2% of the total population.

在Jeollanam-do的Suncheon中，一名人員管理機構官員說，許多企業主現在建議在試圖招募工人時預先付款。據司法部稱，截至2024年，約有265萬外國國民居住在韓國，佔總人口的5.2％。

Among them, an estimated 400,000 are undocumented. A staffing agency official in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, said the use of crypto wages has extended beyond factory workers.

其中，估計有400,000個沒有證件。 Gyonggi省Dongducheon的一名人員管理機構官員說，加密工資的使用已超越工廠工人。

“For several years now, sex workers from countries like Thailand and the Philippines have also been receiving their daily pay in cryptocurrency,” the official said. From the government’s perspective, the growing volume of cryptocurrency remittances sent abroad by foreign workers raises concerns. A sharp increase could affect the country’s foreign exchange supply and put pressure on exchange rate volatility.

這位官員說：“幾年來，來自泰國和菲律賓等國家的性工作者也一直在收到加密貨幣的日常薪水。”從政府的角度來看，外國工人在國外發送的加密貨幣匯款量增加引起了人們的關注。急劇增加可能會影響該國的外匯供應，並對匯率波動施加壓力。

Under S, Korean labor law, wages must be paid in legal tender—meaning cryptocurrency-based payments are technically illegal. However, with the country facing chronic labor shortages across industries and agriculture due to its aging population and low birthrate, enforcing that regulation has proven difficult. Authorities appear reluctant to crack down aggressively, given the risk of further destabilizing already strained labor supply chains.

根據韓國勞動法，必須以法定貨幣支付工資 - 從技術上講是基於加密貨幣的付款是非法的。但是，由於該國由於人口老齡化和低出生率而面臨著整個行業和農業的長期勞動力短缺，因此證明該法規已被證明很困難。考慮到進一步破壞已經緊張的勞動力供應鏈的風險，當局似乎不願意積極打擊。