Bizarre Recruitment Followed by Forced Labor: Philippine Seasonal Workers Face "Human Trafficking" After Arriving in Korea

[Anchor]

Yesterday, we reported on the absurd reality of a local government that made Philippine applicants do the duck walk while selecting seasonal workers. Unfortunately, the ordeal for these seasonal workers did not end after they arrived in Korea. Some had their wages extorted and their passports confiscated. The government has officially recognized them as victims of human trafficking.

Reporter Jeong Banseok has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

The selection process for seasonal workers from Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which took place in the Philippines last month.

Applicants were forced to do the duck walk under the pretext of a physical fitness test, and Hong, the head of a private labor agency, was present at the scene.

Maria, who was raising three children alone in the Philippines, came to Korea four years ago through Hong.

She stated that 450,000 won was deducted every month while she worked in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, and 750,000 won was transferred to Hong every month without her knowledge while she worked in Haenam, South Jeolla Province.

[Maria (Pseudonym) / Philippine Seasonal Worker: I did not even know where or how my bank account was created. It was set up so that the money would be automatically withdrawn.]

She added that her passport was confiscated and that she was even forced to sign a loan agreement as if she had borrowed money from Hong.

[Maria (Pseudonym) / Philippine Seasonal Worker: I was told that if I did not sign the memorandum, I could not come to Korea. It was written that I had to surrender my passport upon entering Korea.]

We visited the factory in Haenam where Maria worked.

[Haenam Employer: I didn't know anything about that. Should I call him a broker? He came through a labor agency, just that one person.]

Although the Haenam County Office, which is responsible for the seasonal worker program, conducted a special inspection two years ago, the facts of the damage were not uncovered.

This was because the workers could not answer honestly when asked if their passports had been confiscated.

[Maria (Pseudonym) / Philippine Seasonal Worker: Because he was watching right next to us, we had no choice but to check 'no'.]

It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family recognized 9 seasonal workers, including Maria, as victims of human trafficking in November of last year.

Confiscating passports and seizing wages through loan agreements constitutes "labor exploitation-type" human trafficking, and 8 out of the 9 victims testified that they entered the country through Hong.

Hong claims that he received entry-related expenses and legitimate service fees.

[Hong (Surname) / Labor Agency Representative: Whether it is Haenam or Anseong, they all came out with no charges (under the Criminal Act).]

Critics point out that local governments relying on private agencies when hiring seasonal workers further fuels such human trafficking.

[Ko Ki-bok / Director, Migrant Workers' Center for Human Rights: (Local governments) lack international cooperation capacity, so when someone offers to help nearby, they just mistake it for genuine cooperation. The brokers' connections are never severed.]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor's Mokpo Office has already forwarded Hong to the prosecution on charges of intermediate wage exploitation under the Labor Standards Act.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Reporter: Bae Moon-san | Video Editing: Lee Sang-min)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.