Investigators from teams formed by five ministries raided workplaces nationwide to search for foreigners without valid working visas. / Courtesy of Ministry of Justice



By Ko Dong-hwan

The government has nabbed more than 8,300 foreigners without valid working visas in a bid to stop illegal migrants taking jobs from Koreans.

The Ministry of Justice and four other ministries formed four teams of investigators and targeted selected urban areas. The operation continued for 11 weeks from Feb. 26, catching 8,351 illegal migrants – 1,297 of whom came from construction sites – and 1,369 employers who hired them.

The joint investigation, including the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, searched for illegal aliens who found jobs mostly through friends, employment agencies and brokers.

The investigative teams each comprised seven to 12 officers. A team covering Seoul and Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces monitored Seoul's Namguro Station in Guro-gu and Ansan Station in the city of Ansan, Feb. 27, where foreigners without valid working visas often seek work.

Other teams each watched Chungcheong provinces, Gyeongsang provinces and Jeolla provinces, keeping a special watch on construction and other sites for weeks. Manufacturing firms, salons, massage parlors, farms, restaurants and lodges were also targeted.

The justice ministry refused to reveal the nationalities "because of diplomatic ties and customs among advanced countries that statistics about illegal aliens are kept confidential."

In March, the Presidential Committee on Job Creation, headed by President Moon Jae-in, met public commissioners and construction bosses to discuss how to curb the hiring of foreigners without work visas. The high-profile roundtable was joined by the ministries of justice, employment and labor, and land, infrastructure and transport.

The number of illegal aliens caught this year is up 14 percent from last year. In the construction industry, the figure has increased 44 percent. The government targeted the industry in its latest raids because more migrants than Koreans have been hired in recent years.

Foreigners caught are deported while those who employed them can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to 20 million won ($18,600).

The investigation also found that 10,729 illegal migrant workers left voluntarily, up from last year's 8,142, thanks to the government's campaign that encouraged them to leave without an immigration infringement record.

The justice ministry plans another crackdown in the second half of this year, expanding the investigative teams to six to monitor Daegu and Yangju.