A foreign worker who left to go to another place contacted us again after not being able to find a new job for three months. After some time, I found out they were working illegally in another company, and there are too many cases where individuals end up being illegal immigrants that way.
Mr. An (65), who has run a Korean restaurant in Sangdang-gu, Cheongju for 15 years, said, "If a foreign worker cannot find a new job for three months, they should be deported, so I wonder why they are not being deported and allowed to become illegal immigrants."
According to the Act on the Employment of Foreigners and the Immigration Control Act, foreign workers must apply for a change of business sites within one month after their existing labor contract ends, and if they do not receive permission for a change of workplace within three months after applying, they must leave the country because they entered Korea on a visa predicated on employment.
However, since there is no one responsible for checking whether they return to their home country, many end up staying in Korea and becoming illegal immigrants. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official, who is in charge of applications for changing business sites and finding new workplaces for foreign workers, noted, "While those who have not found jobs within three months fall under the labor ministry's responsibility, the management of individuals who become illegal immigrants after three months is the Ministry of Justice's responsibility."
Employers say the lack of information sharing and cooperation between government departments is a problem. A representative from a metal company who raised an issue at a local employment center stated, "Even if it becomes clear during an investigation of labor standards violations that someone is an illegal immigrant, the labor ministry says it cannot deport them because it is not their jurisdiction, and the immigration office essentially does not know the foreign worker's address, so how can they forcibly deport them?"
The Department of Labor is responsible for up to three months after the application for changing business sites, and after three months, responsibility shifts to the Ministry of Justice. Because information sharing between the labor ministry and the justice ministry is not smooth, illegal immigrants are generated during this transfer of jurisdiction.
The Ministry of Justice stated, "We notify foreign workers, who are classified as targets for deportation and have been electronically notified, to attend and provide their statements. After verifying the facts, if confirmed as deportation targets, we guide them to adjust their stay period and leave within the stipulated time." If a foreign worker goes into hiding, there is effectively no way to locate them.
Foreign workers often enter Korea on E-9 visas and frequently request changes in business sites. Last year, 66,533 foreign workers applied for a change of business site, accounting for 84.5% of the total 78,645 personnel who entered on E-9 visas. There were 2,805 foreign workers who failed to find a job within three months on E-9 visas last year. If they did not voluntarily leave, they remain in Korea as illegal immigrants.
Illegal immigrants who have entered a management blind spot attempt to find employment in other domestic corporations. Mr. Lee (67), who is in charge of foreign labor at a manufacturing company in Busan, said, "They pretend to leave the country but then hide and work illegally; there are not many cases of them being caught."
The Act on the Employment of Foreigners requires employers to subscribe to a departure bond. This is to guarantee severance pay for foreign workers and prevent them from becoming illegal immigrants, but the payment of insurance is made on the condition of departure. A labor ministry official mentioned, "While the insurance payment is made on the premise of departure, there is no separate verification of tickets."
There are also stories in the field that information about crackdowns is shared informally. A representative from a manufacturing company who requested anonymity said, "Local governments inform us that 'the immigration authorities will conduct a crackdown within 1 to 2 weeks.' Then, for about two weeks, we avoid letting illegal immigrants work by hiding them."
Mr. Kim (60), who operates a lodging business in Seoul, said, "Unless a serious incident occurs to become a social problem, the atmosphere around the crackdown on illegal immigrants is rather lenient. The person in charge knows that things won't run if they are not around."
Professor Kim Joong-gon from the Police Administration Department at Keimyung University said, "The problem is that there is a significant lack of personnel for crackdowns on illegal immigrants. They are essentially left to their own devices, and to conduct proper crackdowns, a major institutional overhaul, including the establishment of an immigration agency, would be necessary." He added, "While universities receiving evaluations from the government for illegal immigrant students step up, the industrial field does not have such incentives and can be regarded as a blind spot."
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