Over half of businesses with migrant workers in Busan found violating labor laws

Migrant workers and civic activists call for improvements in labor conditions, at a rally held by Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul, April 25. The event was held to mark May 1 International Workers' Day. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

More than half of the businesses employing foreign nationals in Busan and its surrounding South Gyeongsang Province were found to have been violating labor laws according to monitoring conducted by the government between 2018 and 2020.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to independent lawmaker Rep. Yoon Mee-hyang earlier this week, 582 out of 1,121 employers of migrant workers in the area, accounting for 52 percent of the businesses surveyed, were found to be in violation of at least one point from the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers or the Labor Standards Act.

Of the violators, only three employers faced fines, while the others were merely given a warning by labor authorities.

Yoon said the labor ministry has been neglecting the reports filed by foreign employees seeking help against on employers who violate their rights under relevant labor laws.

Recently, two Cambodian workers at a farm in Miryang filed a report with the labor authorities for about 30 million won ($25,400) in back wages, and being forced to work at another farm.

Under the Act on Employment of Foreign Workers, migrant workers who enter the country under the Employment Permit System (EPS) are only allowed to work at one workplace at a time as reported to labor authorities.

But the authorities neglected the report, according to an audio file disclosed by Rep. Yoon at the National Assembly, Tuesday.

In the voice recording, an official who conducted the investigation says to the employer, “Technically, forcing an employee to work somewhere else is illegal, but I'll pretend I haven't seen anything.”

Yoon called for effective measures to rectify the issue. “Migrant workers have been continuing to raise their voices on the human rights violations in workplaces, but such an incident shows that the government is not properly monitoring or responding to the cases,” she said.