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Wages, retirement allowances, disaster compensation, and other claims arising from employment relationships are subordinate to pledges or mortgages on the employer's total assets but take priority over taxes, public dues, and other claims. However, the final three months' wages, three years' retirement allowance, and disaster compensation take priority even over pledges and mortgages, allowing the highest priority distribution in cases of forced execution of the employer's assets. Under the Wage Claim Guarantee Act, if a company goes bankrupt or closes due to suspension or cessation of business and wages or retirement allowances cannot be received, applying for unpaid wages (settlement funds) for three months' wages or three years' retirement allowance at the local employment and labor office in charge of the workplace results in the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service paying a certain amount of settlement funds on behalf of the employer from the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund under the Wage Claim Guarantee Act. The settlement funds initially paid by the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service on behalf of the employee do not fully cover the individual worker's unpaid wages but are limited to the scope for basic livelihood maintenance, with age-specific monthly upper limits set. Therefore, amounts exceeding this must be claimed individually from the employer by the worker or confirmed as unpaid wages at the local labor office and applied for distribution at the court. • Upper limits by age: Age at retirement Monthly upper limit 45 and above 1.2 million won, 30 and above but under 45 1 million won, under 30 800,000 won. Thus, the maximum receivable amount is 3.6 million won for three months' wages plus 3.6 million won for three years' retirement allowance, totaling 7.2 million won. When exceeding this amount, the worker must separately attach the employer's assets or apply for distribution at the court to receive repayment.