InterviewRights advocate for migrant workers named recipient of labor award

Jeong Gue-sun / Courtesy of Jeong Gue-sun

An immigrant rights advocate will be honored with the 2025 Korean Labor Award for her three decades of advocacy supporting and empowering migrant workers in Korea.

The organizers of the prestigious annual award ― the Korea University Graduate School of Labor Studies and its Labor Issues Research Institute ― have named Jeong Gue-sun, 64, as the next recipient. The award ceremony is scheduled to be held on July 16 at the Press Center in Seoul.

“It is such a great honor to receive the award,” Jeong told The Korea Times on Tuesday. “But at the same time, the announcement makes me ponder over whether I deserve it, given in my view, little progress has been made over the past 30 years in terms of how workers from other countries are perceived and treated in our society.”

Jeong’s journey began in the 1980s, a period marked by poor working conditions and the rise of Korea’s labor and pro-democracy movements. As new unions formed and legal reforms were enacted to protect workers from excessive overtime and health hazards, she believed these were major steps forward for all workers. But a pivotal moment in 1996 changed her perspective.

While assisting a Filipino worker with overdue wages, Jeong realized that despite legal progress, the harsh realities of the workplace had not improved for everyone. This realization drove her to dedicate herself fully to advocating for the rights of migrant workers.

“I realized that the extremely poor working conditions themselves had not improved; it was just that the workers had changed from Koreans to migrants. I came to understand that we should do more for their rights,” she said. “From that day on, I decided to throw myself into this without thinking much about where it would eventually take me.”

Later that year, she and several other human rights activists established the Association for Human Rights of Foreign Workers (now known as Solidarity With Migrants) to offer counseling and other services for noncitizen workers. The following year, it partnered with a group of dentists to open a free clinic for such workers.

In 2005, she also helped set up a counseling center for immigrant women married to Koreans as the number of international marriages was starting to rise rapidly.

The organization’s impact extended beyond direct services. Through research, publications and policy advocacy, it brought attention to the systemic challenges facing migrant workers. That includes the Industrial Trainee System, which was introduced in 1993 to address labor shortages in Korea before being abolished in 2007, thanks to the organization’s efforts.

When asked about the most meaningful aspect of her work, Jeong said it is witnessing the transformation of migrant workers.

“The most rewarding thing for me is seeing migrant workers who came to Korea ― often just thinking about themselves and hoping for a better life ― grow into outstanding human rights activists after experiencing and learning so much here,” she said. “Some of them return to their home countries and continue such activities there. When I see these migrant activists, I realize that their time in Korea wasn’t just about labor; they also learned about democracy, legal systems and civic consciousness. Then, when they go back home, they work to make meaningful changes in their own countries. This gives true meaning to what we do.”