"I can send people to Incheon, Yeoncheon, and Busan immediately, even today, according to your desired conditions. These days, the number of illegal residents is overflowing, so I can manage even 100 people."
Son Mo (55), the representative of a manpower brokerage firm with 30 years of experience, said that the harder the job and the more insignificant the company, the more they look for illegal residents. He noted, "As long as we provide accommodation for the workers, many will not run away and work hard for a salary around the minimum wage. Most of them are workers from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, fluent in Korean and many are skilled workers."
As the United States strengthens investigations into forced labor in Asia, including Korea, the need for management of foreign workers is increasing, but the demand and supply of illegal residents continue to grow. The U.S. considers ▲exploitation of vulnerability ▲fraud ▲harsh living and working conditions ▲refusal to pay wages as forced labor, and if violations are confirmed, they may ban the import of those products. Such forced labor often occurs among foreign workers, including illegal residents.
Companies that hire illegal residents say they have no choice but to use illegal residents due to a lack of manpower. Choi Mo, the representative of a metal company in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, said, "We can't find Koreans at all, and foreign workers who enter on an E-9 (non-professional work visa) keep demanding to change business sites to less strenuous jobs or places that pay more. It takes time and administrative expenses to legally bring in new (foreign) personnel, and if this is repeated, it's better to hire illegal residents."
The plating industry is also one of the sectors that hire many illegal residents. Harmful substances are generated during the zinc processing, so it is avoided by both Koreans and foreign workers with valid work visas. Lee Mo (67), who works as an executive in a related company, said, "When a person leaves, if we try to hire someone new, that person also leaves because it's tough. The people who fill that position without even receiving minimum wage are illegal residents."
According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of crackdowns on illegal residents increased nearly fourfold from 11,544 cases in 2021 to 45,442 cases last year. The number of penalties against employers hiring illegal residents also rose from 3,309 cases in 2021 to 7,364 cases last year. This year, as of July, there are 4,131 cases. This indicates an increase in both the demand and supply for illegal labor, separate from legal foreign workers.
Park Se-jin, representative of the Ium Administrative Service Office, said, "When the workload suddenly increases, the available workforce is illegal residents. In the field, 10-20% of very small businesses with fewer than five employees are using illegal residents, and some production sites are entirely comprised of illegal residents," adding, "They need to meet deadlines, but without personnel, it's a choice for survival."
Once companies hire illegal residents, they fall into a vicious cycle of continuously employing them. If caught hiring illegal residents, they cannot hire legal workers for a certain period. According to the Immigration Control Act, employers who hire illegal residents face fines and penalties and can be restricted from issuing visas (for hiring foreign workers through the employment permit system) for up to three years.
Park said, "Some places that hire illegal residents face fines in the millions of won. When they get caught in a crackdown, hiring through the employment permit system is banned for a certain period, so they look for illegal residents again." Companies that hire illegal residents can save on expenses such as the four major insurances, allowing them to collect that money to pay fines.
Some companies point to the sharply rising industrial electricity rates as a reason for seeking illegal residents. Kwon Mo (58), the representative of a metal company, said, "The difference between daytime and nighttime electricity rates is about threefold, so some places run factories at night, and if we hire legal workers at night, wages double. For this reason, there are places that lock their doors at night and hire illegal residents."
Representatives of small and medium enterprises that employ many foreign workers argue that the rights of employers regarding legally admitted foreign workers should be strengthened. One small business representative said, "When legally admitted foreign workers engage in work stoppages or report trivial matters, we are taken by surprise. The government should respond or grant employers the right to respond, but right now that is not available, so many prefer to pay lower salaries and hire illegal residents, accepting the risk of being fined if caught."
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