Lee Kiheon: "Working Holiday Victims Up Fivefold in 3 Years... 79 Cases in Australia This Year Alone"

The number of incidents and accidents involving young Koreans on working holidays has surged more than fivefold over the past three years. In particular, 72% of the victims in the first half of this year were in Australia, and cases of working holidaymakers there going missing or being suspected missing have also risen rapidly.

According to data submitted by Lee Ki-heon, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of September 21, 2026, the total number of Koreans who became victims of incidents or accidents while on a working holiday reached 726 over the past five years (2022 to June 2026), based on materials received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Broken down by year, there were 44 victims in 2022, 158 in 2023, 191 in 2024, and 224 last year. In just the first half of this year, another 109 cases were reported. The number of victims last year was more than five times higher than in 2022.

Even compared to the increase in the number of working holiday participants, the rise in incidents and accidents was steeper. While the number of visas issued grew from 21,424 in 2022 to 41,984 last year—about a twofold increase—the number of incident and accident victims jumped over fivefold from 44 to 224 during the same period.

The incidents were particularly concentrated in Australia. Although Australia’s share of issued working holiday visas decreased from 55% in 2022 to 42% last year, the proportion of incident and accident victims who were in Australia stood at 75% in 2022, 77% in 2023, 54% in 2024, and 62% last year. In the first half of this year, 79 out of the 109 victims (72%) were in Australia.

The most notable type of incident in Australia was loss of contact or suspected disappearance. In 2022, only one such case was reported, but the figure rose to 15 in 2023, 25 in 2024, and 25 last year. In just the first half of this year alone, there were already 24 cases, nearing the total for the entire previous year within six months.

Broken down by type of incident among working holidaymakers in Australia during the first half of this year: there were 10 fraud cases, 8 cases of assault or injury, 8 traffic accidents, and 5 thefts.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that many go to Australia because of relatively high wages, but since communication services are unstable in areas outside urban centers, there has been a rise in reports from families or acquaintances of losing contact.

Assemblyman Lee said, "When contact is lost, it is important to quickly determine whether it is simply a communication issue or if it has actually resulted from a disappearance or incident," and added, "Guidance before departure should be strengthened so that working holidaymakers share their local addresses and contact information with family in Korea immediately upon arrival."

He went on to say, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should conduct special monitoring and implement necessary preventive measures in regions, including Australia, where incidents and accidents involving our young people have sharply increased to ensure their safety."

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