For more than four months, officials in the southwestern Korean city of Jeongeup held the passport of a seasonal worker from the Philippines.
The worker was among 60 foreign nationals whose passports were retained by the city government to prevent them from leaving their assigned workplaces, according to an SBS report Tuesday
Despite acknowledging that the passports had been retained to prevent workplace departures, Jeongeup described the practice as an “administrative mistake.” The city has since returned all 60 passports, according to the report.
The Ministry of Justice lists the withholding of seasonal workers’ passports as an indicator of possible human rights violations.
2. How is this related to the sub
(1) Migrant worker abuse: A city council in Korea caught abusing seasonal workers by taking away their passports.
3. My opinion
It’s great that Korean media outlets are finally paying attention to the abuses by migrant workers. “Employment visa” system was broken but there was not much attention to it. But after a series of high profile scandals such as a Sri Lankan worker tied to a forklift and dragged around have raised public awareness.
1 Comment
1. Summary
For more than four months, officials in the southwestern Korean city of Jeongeup held the passport of a seasonal worker from the Philippines.
The worker was among 60 foreign nationals whose passports were retained by the city government to prevent them from leaving their assigned workplaces, according to an SBS report Tuesday
Despite acknowledging that the passports had been retained to prevent workplace departures, Jeongeup described the practice as an “administrative mistake.” The city has since returned all 60 passports, according to the report.
The Ministry of Justice lists the withholding of seasonal workers’ passports as an indicator of possible human rights violations.
2. How is this related to the sub
(1) Migrant worker abuse: A city council in Korea caught abusing seasonal workers by taking away their passports.
3. My opinion
It’s great that Korean media outlets are finally paying attention to the abuses by migrant workers. “Employment visa” system was broken but there was not much attention to it. But after a series of high profile scandals such as a Sri Lankan worker tied to a forklift and dragged around have raised public awareness.