[Contribution] Knife drawn on ‘labor exploitation of seasonal workers’… Local government risk defense strategy

Attorney Beomsu Yoon, Daeryun Law Firm

In the past, many local governments continued the practice of outsourcing all work to brokers during the process of introducing foreign seasonal workers due to language barriers, complicated administrative procedures, and lack of manpower. This is why the Ministry of Justice began a large-scale inspection of businesses introducing seasonal workers for about three months starting this month. This inspection is targeting 27 cities and counties across the country that have received more than 100 seasonal workers or have caused social controversy in the past due to issues related to seasonal workers. If violations are discovered or requests for correction, such as improvements to accommodation, are not complied with, special attention is needed from each local government as they may be excluded from future seasonal worker assignments.

In particular, we must face the fact that the weight of legal responsibility is different from before. Article 94, Paragraph 11-2 of the revised Immigration Control Act, which came into effect on January 23, strictly prohibits the act of receiving money or valuables by intervening in the selection, placement, or recruitment of seasonal workers, and stipulates that violations will result in imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won. This means that the secret link between 'local government-private broker-farm owner', which was tolerated in the past for administrative convenience, is now treated as a serious crime in which local government officials and farm owners can be implicated as accomplices.

So how should local governments defend against these judicial risks and the possibility of administrative sanctions? The key is the directization of administration and the establishment of a specific ‘compliance (compliance) system’. Like the Geochang-gun model in South Gyeongsang Province, the county office should directly carry out visa acquisition and administrative procedures that used to rely on brokers, and directly select workers through on-site interviews, thereby completely blocking any room for private intervention.

In addition, a specific manual is needed to prevent and manage human trafficking crimes, such as passport confiscation and wage theft, at the local government level. When concluding a labor contract between a farm and a worker, the local government must clearly announce the prohibition on confiscation of ID cards and bank accounts and require a pledge to this effect. Furthermore, dedicated personnel should be deployed within local governments to regularly cross-verify farmers' wage payment details and living conditions, including accommodations, in accordance with the Ministry of Justice's inspection standards, and establish communication channels to respond immediately when problems arise. Through this, blocking illegal elements early and proving that the management and supervision system that complies with legal standards is operating properly will be a key strategy to safely protect seasonal worker quotas for local agricultural fisheries.

● Contributions by external writers may differ from our editorial direction.

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[Contribution] 'Labor exploitation of seasonal workers' knife drawn... Local government risk defense strategy (Go here)