According to Yonhap News, there was a case at a workplace in Gyeonggi where a migrant worker's genitals were sprayed with an air gun. The police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor said the case is very serious and started a full-scale investigation. Victim Mr. A entered in about 2011 with an Non-professional Worker visa and worked, and after July 2020, he has been an undocumented resident. The Ministry of Justice confirmed the harm through an investigation by the Immigrant Rights Protection TF and decided to support a stable status of residence too. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is also doing an on-site workplace investigation together with the Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Office wide-area labor standards supervision division. The investigation includes assault of foreign workers, workplace bullying, unpaid wages, and whether there were violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The victim's side applied for industrial accident medical care benefits at the Hwaseong branch of Korea Workers Compensation & Welfare Service (COMWEL), and will also get treatment support. The police also decided to provide psychological counseling and medical expense support to protect the victim. President Lee said violence and discrimination against migrant workers are serious crimes, and asked related agencies to take active action.
원문 보기Why it doesn't end with just one airgun case
When you first read the article, it's easy to feel this way: 'This is such a horrifying assault case.' And that's true—first of all, it is a criminal case. But if you look a little deeper, this is not a story that ends with a single assault. Because the victim is a migrant worker, and moreover was an undocumented resident whose visa had expired, everything is intertwined as one bundle: whether the victim can continue receiving treatment, whether reporting it could lead to deportation, and whether they can get out of the company.
So the core of this case does not stop at simply saying, 'there was a bad employer.' The police investigate assault and injury, the Ministry of Employment and Labor examines workplace harassment, wage arrears, and industrial safety violations, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service determines whether it qualifies as an industrial accident, and the Ministry of Justice reviews whether stable residency can be guaranteed. That is exactly why, even though it is a single case, multiple agencies move at the same time.
And an even more uncomfortable question remains. Why do these cases keep repeating with only the industry changed? Whether it's a manufacturing plant, agriculture and livestock, or a fish farm, the names differ but the words attached afterward are similar, aren't they? Assault, wage arrears, poor housing, interference with medical treatment, pressure to return home. To understand this, you have to look together at Korea's Employment Permit System (E-9, a system that allows non-professional foreign workers to work in Korea for a certain period) and the structure of dependency within it.
Criminal investigation: The police handle assault and injury.
Labor rights investigation: The Ministry of Labor handles harassment, wage arrears, and safety issues.
Compensation and treatment: If it is related to work, the industrial accident compensation process opens.
Residency stability: Even for an undocumented resident, victim protection may take effect first.
What agencies move in Korea when harm occurs?
It is one case, but there is not just one procedure. Punishment, labor inspection, compensation, and residency support all operate at the same time.
Step 1: Bring the case out into the open through a 112 report or a complaint
For urgent dangers like assault or injury, reporting to the police comes first. For wage arrears or harassment, routes such as filing a complaint with the labor office, counseling through 1350, and the 1345 Foreign Resident Contact Center are also available. What matters is 'getting connected somewhere first.'
Step 2: The police look at the crime, while the Ministry of Labor looks at labor law violations
The same scene is viewed differently by the two agencies. The police examine criminal responsibility—who assaulted whom and how—while the Ministry of Labor examines the full range of labor law issues, such as violations of the prohibition on violence, workplace harassment, wage arrears, long working hours, and occupational safety and health violations.
Step 3: If the reason for the injury is connected to work, the industrial accident process opens
The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service examines whether 'this is an occupational accident.' It is not enough that the person was simply injured at the company; the key is how closely the cause of the assault is connected to the work. If recognized, it can lead to medical expenses and workers' compensation benefits.
Step 4: Residency issues are handled separately by the Ministry of Justice
For migrant workers, this is where the most anxious question arises: 'If I report it, won't I be the one expelled first?' In situations like this, the Ministry of Justice may prioritize victim protection through exemption from the duty to report, extension of the period of stay, and review of temporary stay status such as G-1.
Step 5: Actual recovery is possible only when treatment, shelter, and interpretation are all connected
Systems are useless if they exist only on paper. Protection becomes real only when there are materials such as counseling records, interpretation, a medical certificate, a case number, and confirmation of shelter admission. That is why if the initial response is delayed, the victim can easily become isolated again.
The police, the Ministry of Labor, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, and the Ministry of Justice: their roles differ like this
These four agencies may seem similar, but they do different things. From the victim's perspective, all of them are important at the same time.
| Institution | What they look at | |
|---|---|---|
| Police | Criminal offenses such as assault, injury, and threats | |
Outcome for the victim Investigation of the perpetrator, booking, personal protection, linkage to medical expense support | ||
| Ministry of Employment and Labor | Wage theft, prohibition of violence, workplace harassment (repeated harassment by abusing a superior position at work), occupational safety and health violations | |
| Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service | Whether it qualifies as a work-related injury | |
| Ministry of Justice · 1345 | Stay-related insecurity, victim protection, report intake and linkage | |
Even just the revealed cases of harassment are increasing rapidly
This is already the number captured through official reports alone. There are continued claims that the actual harm could be much greater.
If an undocumented resident reports harm, will they be deported immediately?
A lot of people think this way. They assume that if an undocumented resident goes to a police station or government office, they will be handed over to immigration right away, and then deportation will follow. But the actual system is not that simple. Under Korean law, there is a mechanism that allows public officials to be exempt from the duty to notify immigration authorities when victim relief must come first. Because if deportation came first the moment someone reported, no one would report violence or exploitation.
In practice, for foreign victims of crime, G-1-type stay status may be considered. Simply put, it is like a safety device that says, 'Resolving this case and recovery come first for now, so let's not cut off their stay immediately.' However, this is not granted automatically, and the more objective evidence there is—such as a case number, complaint filing receipt, medical certificate, or shelter admission confirmation—the more likely it is that actual protection will work.
This is the important part. Having a system in place and being able to access it on the ground without fear are completely different issues. From the perspective of an undocumented resident, the fear of 'What if the exception is not recognized?' is overwhelming. So what matters for the protection system is not just the legal text, but how well interpretation, proxy reporting, and counseling channels are connected, because that completely changes how protection is experienced.
Even an undocumented resident can be eligible for protection as a victim of crime.
It is not automatic deportation immediately upon reporting; the logic of victim relief first can apply.
However, it is not automatically guaranteed, so securing case-related evidence is extremely important.
The common belief of 'immediate forced departure' is different from the actual system
The fear is real, but the law and practice place exceptions and protective mechanisms in between.
| Category | Common belief | |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting | If you go to the police, you will be taken away immediately | |
Actual system and reality If victim relief must come first, exemption from the duty to notify is possible | ||
| Stay | If you are undocumented, stabilizing your stay is impossible under any circumstances | |
| Proof | You are protected if you just say it happened | |
| Limits | Since there are exceptions, there is no need to worry | |
Can assault during work also qualify as a work-related injury?
Many people think of workers' compensation only as accidents like getting caught in machinery or falling, but assault related to work can also qualify as a work-related injury. The key point is not the location, but the cause. Being hit inside a factory does not automatically make it a work-related injury, but on the other hand, if it happened in the context of work—such as performing duties, giving instructions, workplace conflict, or dealing with customers—rather than because of a personal grudge, it can be recognized as a work-related injury.
This does not change just because someone is a migrant worker. More precisely, a person is not automatically excluded from workers' compensation coverage simply because they are a foreign national or because they are undocumented. In fact, there have been cases in which undocumented migrant workers were approved for workers' compensation and proceeded with treatment after it was recognized that they were injured while providing labor and that the injury was work-related.
That is why a workers' compensation claim is involved in the Hwaseong case as well. A police investigation is a procedure to punish the perpetrator, while workers' compensation is a procedure that enables the victim to continue receiving treatment. They are not competing with each other; it is more accurate to see them as different axes of the same case.
It does not look only at whether the person was injured inside the company, but at why they were injured.
If it is connected to conflict, instructions, or control in the course of performing work, the likelihood of it being recognized as an industrial accident increases.
Even if someone is an undocumented resident, treatment support may be available if actual work and a work-related injury are recognized.
Why are some assaults recognized as industrial accidents, while others are difficult to recognize?
Industrial accident compensation is a system that examines work-relatedness rather than 'pitiful circumstances.'
| Category | Likelihood of recognition as an industrial accident | |
|---|---|---|
| Assault that occurred during the process of work instructions | High | |
Reason Because the cause of the conflict is directly connected to performing work | ||
| Assault suffered while responding to customers or complainants | High | |
| Personal grudges or private disputes between coworkers | Low | |
| Private-life disputes such as dating or money problems | Low | |
How did the migrant labor system get to this point?
The problems we see today did not appear overnight. Even as the system changed, some structures remained the same.
1993–2003: The shadow of the industrial trainee system
At first, Korea accepted foreigners not as formal workers but under the name of trainees. It was called training, but in reality they worked on-site, which created major blind spots in labor law protection and serious human rights violations.
2004: Introduction of the Employment Permit System
To fix this problem, the Employment Permit System(EPS), which legally recognizes foreigners as workers, was introduced. This was clearly progress. At the very least, it created a language of rights that trainees did not have.
After 2011: Repeated human rights warnings and partial improvements
The National Human Rights Commission and international organizations kept pointing out the same issue: restrictions on changing workplaces were so strong that dependence on employers increased. There were some gradual adjustments to housing issues and mobility procedures, but the framework itself did not change much.
2024–2026: 20-year review and discussions on liberalization
As the Employment Permit System reached its 20th year, the same question returned: 'If legal status has improved, why do assault and exploitation keep repeating?' Recently, discussions about allowing freer workplace changes have entered the policy arena, but old problems are still repeating in the field.
The industrial trainee system and the Employment Permit System: what changed, and what remained?
On the surface, it looked like a major reform, but the sense of dependence felt by migrant workers has not completely disappeared.
| Item | Industrial Trainee System | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Trainee-centered | |
Employment Permit System(E-9) Recognized as workers | ||
| Labor law protection | Very weak | |
| Sending structure | Controversy over corruption and broker problems | |
| Freedom to change workplaces | Limited | |
| Structural vulnerability | Large blind spots in rights protection | |
Why does pressure to return home come before treatment?
This is the part that weighs most heavily on my mind. From the outside, it may seem easy to think, 'If you're sick, just go to the hospital, and if the company is the problem, just quit.' But for E-9 migrant workers, it is not that simple. A single issue of changing jobs can shake their visa, housing, wage settlement, next job, and residence stability all at once.
For example, when an employer interferes with treatment or urges someone to return home, that is not just a casual remark. It can sound like pressure saying, 'If you try to hold out here, you may not be able to stay in Korea much longer.' If the housing is company-owned, the company controls bank account management or wage settlement information, and workplace changes are restricted, then even choices that are legally available to workers become impossible to choose in reality.
This structure is not exactly the same as systems like the Gulf countries' kafala, where the employer almost entirely controls a worker's stay. However, internationally, Korea is also assessed as an employer-tied regime, that is, a system in which residence and labor are strongly tied to the employer. That is why, even in the Hwaseong case, the focus of the government response shifted beyond simply supporting medical expenses to the issue of allowing the victim to remain in the country while receiving treatment. To receive treatment, the person first has to be able to stay in Korea.
If you leave your job, your visa and income may become unstable.
If housing and daily-life information are tied to the company, the cost of escape becomes high.
As a result, a large gap emerges between legal rights and the actual ability to exercise them.
What happens when visas, housing, and wages are tied together in one hand
Power does not arise from fists alone. The more the means of living are concentrated in one place, the greater the power of control becomes.
| Point of control | Who can easily hold it | |
|---|---|---|
| Visa and workplace change | Employer/system | |
Effect on the worker The moment they leave the company, anxiety over their residence status grows, making them hesitate to raise problems | ||
| Housing | Employer or broker | |
| Wage settlement | Employer | |
| Reemployment/recommendation information | Employer/intermediate manager | |
So how should we view this case?
The Hwaseong air gun case is clearly one that requires strict punishment for the individual act of violence. But if it ends there, the likelihood of another case emerging grows. That is because at the root of similar cases there is always the same set of questions: why the victim could not immediately escape, why pressure to return home works more effectively than treatment, and why reporting is delayed.
Ultimately, this case is also one that asks how Korean society has come to rely on migrant workers. Korea's manufacturing, agriculture and livestock industries, and fisheries already depend heavily on migrant labor, yet the system is still largely designed to 'make them work, but not let them stay easily.' In this structure, whether it is assault or wage theft, an environment in which victims have difficulty resisting is likely to be repeated.
So there are really two important things. One is ensuring that in this case, the victim receives sufficient treatment and protection while maintaining their residence status; the other is addressing structural issues such as restrictions on workplace changes, access to counseling, separation of housing, and guidance on industrial accident compensation and labor rights even after public attention to the case dies down. Only then will we hear a little less of the phrase 'another similar case.'
Can repetition be prevented by punishing only the perpetrator?
Is there a structure in which victims do not lose their livelihood and residence status even if they report?
Is Korea's migrant labor system closer to 'subordination' than to 'protection'?
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