Foreign worker doxed by interpreter after fleeing armed threats, civic groups say

Members of civic groups hold a press conference demanding improved treatment for seasonal workers in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea headquarters in in Jung District, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Dozens of civic groups joined together to file a complaint Monday with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea seeking an investigation into alleged retaliation against a seasonal worker who fled his workplace after being threatened by a Korean coworker.

The case highlights broader problems in Korea's seasonal worker program, which was introduced to ease chronic farm and fishing labor shortages by bringing in foreign workers.

The complaint centers on a Filipino worker who came to Korea in April to work at a fishing business in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. He fled the workplace last month after a Korean coworker repeatedly cursed at him and threatened him with a weapon.

After he left, an interpreter who helped manage seasonal workers' entry and employment warned his family by text message that he could face deportation, a reentry ban and a fine if caught.

The interpreter also cited his departure to pressure other seasonal workers and their sponsors into notarizing family guarantee contracts requiring a payment of 50 million won ($33,500) if they left their workplace without authorization.

The Filipino worker has since left Boryeong and is living elsewhere in Korea, but his situation remains precarious. Since the interpreter's post circulated, he has faced criticism, mental distress and threats to his personal safety from multiple parties, including members of the Filipino community and officials from his home municipality in the Philippines.

“Under the Act on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims and the government's victim identification indicators, such clauses are a typical means of economic control and exploitation that restrict seasonal workers' freedom to leave and induce forced labor,” the civic groups said.

The civic groups noted that interpreters operating within the seasonal worker program are not formally contracted by the government but private actors whose roles and credentials are largely unregulated — with some presenting themselves on social media as volunteer translators and others running private job placement agencies.

Won Ok-kum, third from right, a representative of the Migrant Center Donghaeng, speaks during a press conference demanding improved treatment for seasonal workers in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea headquarters in Jung District, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Won Ok-kum, a representative of the Migrant Center Donghaeng, called for reforms to address interpreter roles and weak hiring standards.

“Interpreters aren't just people who relay language. They connect workers with workplaces and authorities and convey their rights,” Won said. “But some interpreters instead act as brokers, leak personal information or favor employers over workers.”

The Filipino worker who left his job was also identified in a warning post by the interpreter to a Facebook group for the Filipino community in Korea, which included his passport photo, name and other personal information.

The civic groups criticized the Ministry of Justice and the city of Boryeong, saying the authorities have taken no action despite learning of the Facebook posting last month.

“This case is not just a human rights violation affecting a single worker. It starkly reveals serious problems in Korea's seasonal worker program,” said Seok Won-jeong, director of the Association for Migrant Workers' Human Rights. “It shows a lack of legal and human rights awareness among those involved, and a system that encourages rights violations.”

Ko Gi-bok, head of the migrant rights group 1218 For All, said the seasonal worker program has become a hotbed of wage exploitation, with brokers preying on workers at every stage.

“Victimized workers must go through public institutions with the help of civic groups just to prove unpaid wages and human trafficking,” Ko said, adding that brokers are rarely punished.

He called for a mandatory public matching system in which local governments would directly handle paperwork for family invitations by marriage migrants and build a pool of trained interpreters.

Yun Seong-min of the Immigrants Advocacy Center Gamdong warned that unchecked expansion of the program is harming both foreign workers and Korean farmers.

“The Ministry of Justice, without careful policy design, is churning out visa categories to meet shifting regional and industry demands,” Yun said. “The program has revealed the structural limits of a system left to one or two local government officials. We urge the government to immediately organize a dedicated investigation team for seasonal workers.”