Planned Inspection of Workplace Accused of Harassing Foreign Workers with Half-Servings and Abusive Language

The government has launched a planned inspection of a workplace in North Chungcheong Province following allegations of harassment against foreign workers.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it will begin a targeted inspection from April 1, 2026, in response to allegations that a business located in North Chungcheong Province failed to properly provide meals to foreign workers, repeatedly used abusive and threatening language, and forced workers to withdraw from the labor union.

Previously, there were reports that a 28-year-old Myanmar national, referred to as Mr. A, who works at a factory in North Chungcheong Province, was only given 0.5 servings per meal despite the employment contract guaranteeing three meals a day, and that the employer habitually used abusive language.

The Ministry plans to closely investigate all aspects of labor-related laws at the workplace, including examining whether there was workplace harassment, unfair labor practices, and wage arrears.

In addition, starting this month, the Ministry will independently select businesses suspected of violating the law and conduct labor inspections in parallel to strengthen the protection of foreign workers' human rights. The targets include companies under the Employment Permit System (E-9) where frequent workplace changes occur, labor law violations have been reported, serious industrial accidents have happened, or there have been multiple civil complaints.

Kwon Changjun, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, stated, "This case, in which the labor and human rights of foreign workers have been violated, is a serious issue that undermines our society's communal values. If any illegal acts are confirmed, we will respond firmly and strengthen proactive preventive supervision."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.