(a) Assaulting, threatening, coercing, arresting, confining, capturing, enticing, or trading a person;
(b) Using deceptive means or force against a person, or taking advantage of the vulnerability and
desperation of a person;
(c) Offering, or promising to offer, money and valuables or property gains to a person who protects
and supervises persons due to business or employment relations or other forms of relations.
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NHRCK, Decision on the case concerning coercive investigation of victims of human trafficking
and prostitution (Case No. 20Jinjeaong0219400, February 2021)
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NHRCK, Opinion on the Bill on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Exploitation, Protection of
Victims, etc. (February 2021); Recommendation for the use of indicators for identifying and protecting
human trafficking victims (June 2016); Decision on the case concerning coercive investigation of
victims of human trafficking and prostitution (Case No. 20Jinjeong0219400, February 2021).
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Article 25 (Permission for Change of Business or Place of Business) of the Act on the Employment
of Foreign Workers:
(1) Where any of the following events occur, a foreign worker (excluding a foreign worker under
Article 12 (1)) may file an application for transfer to another business or place of business with the
head of an employment security office, as prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of
Employment and Labor:
1. If his/her employer intends to terminate the labor contract during the contract period, or intends
to refuse renewal of the labor contract after its expiration, on a justifiable ground;
2. Where the Minister of Employment and Labor gives public notice, as it is deemed under a social
norm that the foreign worker is unable to continue to work in the business or place of business for
a reason not attributable to the worker, such as a temporary shutdown, business closure,
employment permit revocation under Article 19 (1), restrictions on employment of foreign workers
under Article 20 (1), provision of a dormitory in violation of Article 22-2, or the employer's
violation of employment terms and conditions or unfair treatment;
3. Where any other cause or event prescribed by the Presidential Decree occurs.
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Those incidents include a case where a migrant worker died in March 2023 after living in a tiny
room in the corner of a pig farm and being exposed to harmful substances while working long hours;
a case where a migrant worker who lived in a plastic greenhouse died in the cold of minus 20 degrees
Celsius in December 2020; and a case where a number of migrant workers living in plastic
greenhouse on farmland were displaced due to heavy rain in August 2020.
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According to a 2021 research report by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the living
environment of foreign workers under the Employment Permit System, more than 70% of migrant
workers are provided with temporary buildings such as containers, prefabricated panels, and facilities
in plastic greenhouses installed in farmland. Regarding the way of offering accommodation and meals
to migrant workers, 77.4% of employers deducted the expenses of accommodation and meals of
migrant workers from their wages. In order to protect the rights to life and housing of migrant
workers, the NHRCK recommended in September 2022 to the Minister of Employment and Labor to
explore support measures including the installment of public dormitories for migrant workers;
conduct a thorough investigation of the living environment provided to migrant workers; and establish
reasonable standards for accommodation and meal costs.
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