Major Crackdown on Illegal Foreign Workers in Metropolitan Labor Market
From May to the end of June 2025, the Seoul Immigration Service has been conducting an intensive crackdown on illegal foreign workers in prominent labor markets, including areas around Namguro Station, Daerim Station, Dongdaemun Station, and Namyeong Station, as well as regions like Hwaseong and Dangjin. This operation aims to protect domestic day laborers who, due to a shortage of work, often find themselves waiting in the early hours of the morning for job opportunities. As the influx of unqualified foreign workers into the day labor market increases, competition for these jobs has become fiercer. Unfortunately, even legal foreign residents, as well as those entering the country on short-term visits, visa waivers, or tourist visas, are often breaking the law by engaging in unauthorized employment, creating chaos in the domestic labor market. This situation has escalated into a fundamental issue concerning the structure of the labor market, which necessitates the development of medium- to long-term solutions.
Crackdown Results: 245 Illegal Foreign Workers Detected
During this recent operation, authorities identified a total of 245 unqualified foreign workers, of which 194 were confirmed to be illegally residing in the country, while 51 were found to be working without authorization. Additionally, four employment agencies that facilitated their hiring were also penalized with fines. The breakdown by nationality showed that 114 were from China, 58 from Thailand, and 57 from Vietnam, with the temporary visitor status (C-3) accounting for 98 cases, visa waiver status (B-1) for 58, and seasonal worker visas (E-8) covering 44. This figure only represents a snapshot of illegal activity, suggesting that many more unauthorized residents and workers may still be operating undetected. Strengthening enforcement measures and improving systematic residency management are critically needed.
Spread of Employment Information Through Social Media
Historically, foreign workers relied on employment offices or personal networks to find jobs. However, there’s been a notable increase in job information being shared through social media platforms like WeChat. This trend creates gaps in the enforcement efforts and highlights the emerging challenge of using digital platforms for illegal job placements. Specifically, in the Namguro and Daerim Station areas, job connections through social media are quite common, particularly among laborers commuting early to construction sites or manufacturing businesses in the metropolitan area. Addressing these digital-based illegal job placements is difficult with existing offline enforcement methods, indicating a need for an online monitoring system and AI-based tracking technologies.
Encouraging Voluntary Departure and Educational Activities
To combat illegal employment and encourage voluntary departures, the Seoul Immigration Office is actively engaging in educational outreach. This outreach primarily targets staffing agencies and both domestic and foreign individuals, educating them on the legal implications and necessary precautions when hiring foreign workers. A strategy combining active enforcement with ongoing educational efforts may yield effective results in motivating illegal foreign residents to leave voluntarily. Nonetheless, for this approach to be successful in the long run, it requires supportive policies and an improvement in societal attitudes toward these issues.