[Unofficial Korean-to-English translation provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"'Human trafficking' charge filed against brokers who exploited wage of seasonal workers," 8 Jan 2024

[...] Foreign seasonal workers scheme was introduced to alleviate labor shortages in rural villages. It is a scheme in which local governments in South Korea sign agreements with local governments abroad and legally employ workers for three to five months. According to the scheme, any entities other than public institutions arranging jobs or receiving recruitment fees is prohibited. However, the reality was different.

[...] Recently, allegations have emerged that Filipino nationals working as seasonal workers in Haenam have been subjected to labor exploitation by brokers. A human rights organization spent months investigating the situation, and testimonies emerged that brokers not only took recruitment fees but as much as 900,000 Won per month by managing wage accounts of seasonal workers and exerted power through withholding large deposits and passports. The human rights organization filed a complaint against the broker A with the Jeonnam National Police Agency, believing that such behavior constituted "human trafficking" under the criminal law.

[...]