Labour Ministry takes action over illegal workers in S Korea
The Labour Ministry is collaborating with several agencies to deal with the problem of illegal workers after Thai tourists turned against South Korea over their stringent immigration regulations.
Two hashtags — #แบนเที่ยวเกาหลี (ban travel to Korea) and #ตมเกาหลี (Korean immigration office) topped X trends in Thailand on October 27, appearing in over 32,000 and 17,000 posts, respectively.
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Sunday that the ministry had submitted a letter to the Thai Travel Agents Association for collaboration to ensure that tour operators do not allow Thai tourists to work illegally in South Korea.
By his estimates, Thai illegal workers in South Korea, dubbed "Phi Noi" (little ghosts), number more than 100,000 people, higher than the 93,118 workers who work legally under the employment permit system, he said.
Phiphat pointed out that illegal workers had failed to comply with the memorandum of understanding between the Thai and South Korean governments.
Many Thais work illegally in South Korea by entering the country as tourists, escaping tour operators, he said. They work without a contract or learning the Korean language, he said, adding, the ministry had set up special teams at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports to prevent Thais from working illegally in South Korea.
He added that the ministry was collaborating with Korea Immigration Service on exchanging information related to the issue for mutual benefit.
The ministry has also implemented measures to deal with agencies who facilitate Thais working illegally in South Korea by launching advertisements via Facebook and Line, he added.
