Fifteen Philippine local government units (LGUs) have halted sending seasonal workers to Korea over illegal brokers. This is because cases of human trafficking, such as unpaid wages, have repeatedly occurred in several areas including Yanggu County in Gangwon Province.
According to the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Philippine outlet Daily Tribune on the 5th, Philippine Minister of Migrant Workers Hans Leo J. Cacdac said, "The deployment offices in 15 areas where illegal broker transaction was detected will suspend processing applications for seasonal workers bound for Korea."
Minister Cacdac, regarding the deployment of seasonal workers to Korea, said, "We have filed criminal charges against four brokers. Each broker produced more than three victims," and added, "Under Philippine law, if there are three or more victims, the sentence is life imprisonment. We are working closely with prosecutors to secure convictions for the brokers."
The Philippine DMW has formed a cross-government body, including local governments, to resolve the broker problem. The DMW is preparing new guidelines to block broker involvement. Previously, hiring was done autonomously at the local government level, but going forward the central government will manage it in an integrated way. In addition, the DMW will be in charge of various trainings before departure and after arrival to fundamentally block broker involvement.
The seasonal worker program allows the employment of foreign workers for five months during times of labor shortages such as the busy farming season. At the employer's discretion, it can be extended by up to three months. Since the program's introduction, a total of 11,778 Philippine seasonal workers have been dispatched to Korea.
In the process of selecting, training and managing seasonal workers, illegal brokers have intervened and various problems have arisen. Ninety-one Philippine seasonal workers who worked in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, in 2023–2024 filed a collective petition with the Gangwon Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) citing unpaid wages. Part of the wages that seasonal workers were supposed to receive was handed over to intermediary brokers. The damages alone amount to about 1.2 billion won.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and the police are currently conducting a joint investigation. In addition, cases of human trafficking, including wage exploitation of seasonal workers, have occurred in Haenam, Pyeongchang, Buyeo, Anseong and Goesan.
Ko Ki-bok, head of the Migration Human Rights and Culture Center for All, said, "If the scope of the suspension of worker deployment expands, it could escalate into a diplomatic issue," and noted, "The government should be alert to illegal brokers targeting seasonal workers and move to impose strong punishment."