Foreign workers harvest radishes at a farm in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Dec. 22, 2025. The government said on Wednesday that it will launch a nationwide crackdown on exploitative trafficking of seasonal migrant workers. Yonhap
Korea is launching a nationwide crackdown on the exploitative trafficking of seasonal migrant workers, a move prompted by a high-profile case late last year in which Filipino farmworkers reported severe mistreatment.
From Thursday through March 31, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Justice will carry out joint inspections with local governments, mainly targeting agricultural and fisheries workplaces that employ foreign seasonal workers, officials said Wednesday.
This is the first time the two ministries have carried out a joint inspection specifically aimed at protecting foreign workers from abuses associated with human trafficking.
This comes amid a jump in trafficking cases, many of them involving forced labor. According to a senior official at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of confirmed cases surged from just 3 in 2023 to 12 in 2024 and 42 in 2025.
All victims were foreign nationals. Among all the cases, labor exploitation was the most common type of abuse with 43 victims, followed by 10 cases of sexual exploitation.
In those exploitative trafficking cases, unregistered brokers impose unlawful commissions and fees, leaving workers heavily indebted even before they start work. These intermediaries and employers also engage in wage theft or withhold pay, using unpaid wages as leverage to keep workers from reporting violations. In many cases, passports and residence permits are confiscated.
In a recent case involving nine Filipino nationals, an investigation led to their formal recognition as victims of trafficking in November 2025, prompting the Philippine government to temporarily suspend the placement of workers from 15 regions linked to the implicated program.
A labor official said that restrictions on dispatches from the affected regions are still in force.
“In December, the presidential office ordered a complete overhaul of the monitoring and management system for seasonal workers,” the official said. “This joint inspection is being conducted as part of those follow‑up measures.”
The crackdown will focus on rural areas that have employed large numbers of seasonal workers or have been linked to serious abuse allegations. Inspectors will look for violations such as forced labor and workplace harassment, while also scrutinizing workers’ living conditions. Authorities said they will also step up action against illegal brokers, pledging strict enforcement of the law against unlawful recruitment and hiring practices.
Under the Labor Standards Act, middleman exploitation is punishable by up to five years in prison or fines up to 50 million won ($34,500). Amendments to the Immigration Control Act, aimed at banning third‑party intervention in the selection, placement and hiring of foreign workers, are also set to come into force on Jan. 23. Violators could face up to three years behind bars or fines up to 30 million won.
The crackdown follows a series of recent government initiatives aimed at strengthening protections for the growing number of foreign workers in Korea. Authorities have already allowed victims of wage theft to receive temporary protection from deportation and exempted some cases from mandatory reporting requirements for migrants without a valid visa. Officials said they will continue to take steps to safeguard workers regardless of their visa status.
“Ensuring that every worker is treated with dignity and protected, regardless of nationality or immigration status, is a constitutional responsibility of the government,” Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. “To achieve an inclusive labor environment with no blind spots, we will build an integrated protection system covering all foreign workers.”