JAKARTA - Reports of human rights violations involving foreign workers in South Korea rose more than sixfold in one month after the Justice Ministry added a dedicated abuse-reporting option to the 1345 Immigration Contact Center, the ministry said on July 6.
The new “No. 1” option gives foreign workers a dedicated channel to report wage arrears, sexual violence and other human rights violations, according to the Justice Ministry release. The ministry said the service provides report intake, counseling and referral to related agencies in 20 languages.
The ministry also said it opened an SNS reporting channel in addition to telephone reporting. The new channel was designed to improve access for foreign workers who may need to report abuse without using the call center directly.
The 1345 Immigration Contact Center is South Korea’s multilingual information service for foreign residents. A Korea Immigration Service page says the center provides counseling on immigration affairs and living in Korea, along with three-way interpretation for central government agencies, local governments, public institutions and nonprofit civic groups.
“The 1345 center is the primary gateway for protecting the rights of foreign workers,” Cha Yong-ho, head of the Korea Immigration Service, said during an inspection of the call center, according to The Korea Times.
The Korea Times, citing the ministry, reported that the hotline change took effect on May 27. Average monthly filings rose from 22 reports to 142 reports during the first 30 days, according to the report.
The complaints involved foreign workers on temporary labour channels, including Employment Permit System workers under the E-9 visa, seasonal agricultural workers under the E-8 visa and maritime workers under the E-10 visa, The Korea Times reported.
Those categories cover many Asian workers entering South Korea for manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and other labour-intensive jobs.
