Gov't moves to protect pay of foreign workers without legal status

The government is pushing to revise the Immigration Control Act to better protect foreign workers — including those without legal status — from losing wages and severance pay in an effort to strengthen human rights protections in the country. Officials say the Ministry of Justice is drafting a bill to add foreign workers who are victims of wage theft to the list of exemptions under Article 84. The article currently requires public officials to notify immigration authorities if they encounter migrants who are living in the country illegally. As a result, such workers are reluctant to report unpaid wages or other labor violations, fearing that doing so could expose their status and lead to deportation. Ministry officials believe this has contributed to widespread underreporting of labor abuses. “The purpose of this amendment is to strengthen protections for foreign workers, including undocumented migrants, by exempting public officials from the duty to notify immigration authorities in cases where they are identified during investigations into wage theft or other violations of laborWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times