‘No freedom to flee’: Sri Lankan worker’s abuse reignites debate over Korea’s foreign labor system

Members of civic groups hold a press conference in front of Naju City Hall in South Jeolla Province on Thursday, calling for a fact-finding investigation into the human rights abuse case involving a Sri Lankan migrant worker at a local brick factory. Yonhap

The case of a Sri Lankan man tied to a forklift and dangled midair at a brick factory in Naju, South Jeolla Province, has reignited public anger and prompted the government to pledge a revamp of Korea’s foreign labor policy.

Experts say the incident exposes the deep flaws of the country’s Employment Permit System (EPS), which severely limits migrant workers’ ability to leave abusive workplaces.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Monday that it would overhaul the EPS to ensure migrant workers can more easily transfer to new jobs when subjected to unjust or dangerous conditions.

Planned reforms include tighter oversight of high-risk workplaces, tougher sanctions for abusive employers and a more integrated support system covering workplace safety, labor rights and job mobility for all foreign workers.

The response follows a strong public outcry after the abuse video went viral and President Lee Jae-myung vowed to “strictly punish the barbaric human rights violations” committed against vulnerable workers.

The victim, a 31-year-old migrant referred to as A, had endured months of verbal abuse since joining the factory last December. On Feb. 26, he was tied with plastic sheeting and suspended from a forklift over a stack of bricks for five minutes as punishment for making a mistake.

Despite the humiliation, A initially stayed silent, hoping to save money to buy a house and marry his girlfriend back home. He finally sought help from a rights group when the emotional toll became too much to bear.

Activists argue that Korea’s current EPS structure creates a power imbalance akin to modern-day servitude. Foreign workers who enter Korea through the system are typically bound to a single employer for three years (extendable to nearly five) and can change jobs only three times, often requiring employer consent.

This dependency opens the door to exploitation. Some employers demand hefty bribes — sometimes millions of won — to approve transfers or threaten workers with deportation.

Even though exceptions exist in cases of sexual abuse, wage theft or industrial accidents, the process to prove such claims is complex, and the labor ministry’s rules are difficult for foreign workers to navigate.

A Sri Lankan migrant worker is tied to cargo and lifted by a forklift at a brick factory in Naju, South Jeolla Province. Yonhap

Worse still, if a worker fails to find a new job within three months after leaving a workplace, they risk becoming undocumented.

“Most foreign workers avoid changing jobs unless they absolutely have to,” said Choi Jeong-kyu, a labor lawyer with the NGO Lawyers for a Democratic Society. “It’s not just that they lose one to two months of their stay; they also face housing and income instability during the job search — and there’s no guarantee they’ll find a new job within three months.”

Past administrations have explored relaxing these restrictions. A 2021 study commissioned by the Ministry of Labor proposed allowing more flexibility after a one-year adaptation period. However, momentum stalled after the Constitutional Court ruled in December 2021 that the EPS restrictions were constitutional.

Activists are now calling for more fundamental changes. “Revising the rules on employer consent, regional job transfer limits, and the three-month deadline is long overdue,” said Son Sang-yong, head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Migrant Workers’ Human Rights Network.

Advocates say that employers hold the power to approve or deny workplace transfers — effectively placing a shackle on migrant workers. “Most workers just endure the abuse in silence because they fear retaliation or harassment if they ask to change jobs,” said Udaya Rai, head of the Migrants’ Trade Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and a Nepalese migrant himself.

Criticism intensified in October 2023 when the Yoon Suk Yeol administration began limiting job changes to within specific regions — such as the Seoul metro area, Gyeongnam, and Chungcheong — in a move to “prevent regional depopulation.” Labor groups have condemned the measure as “forced labor.”

As one protester’s placard read during a recent migrant rights march in Seoul: “Guarantee freedom to change workplaces for all migrant workers.” For now, that freedom remains elusive.

According to a recent study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 31.2 percent of E-9 visa migrant workers said they had experienced discrimination in Korea.

Among them, 43.1 percent said they “endured it,” while 36.6 percent said they “did nothing” in response — meaning nearly 80 percent remained silent or passive. Among female respondents, 7.1 percent reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.