The Ministry of Justice (acting through Vice Minister and Acting Minister Lee Jin-soo) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Hwang Jong-woo) announced that they will conduct a three-week joint human rights inspection for the second half of the year, targeting fishery households employing foreign seasonal workers, starting Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 27.

This inspection is designed to closely examine the working and living conditions of foreign seasonal workers and improve any issues identified in the field. In particular, the inspection will focus on local governments that have faced allegations of human rights violations even after the first-half inspection, as well as regions with large allocations of seasonal workers or a high number of newly assigned personnel.

Joint inspections involving the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, civic groups, and local governments will be conducted in five local authorities where human rights violation allegations have been raised or that have large seasonal worker allocations. Meanwhile, self-inspections will be carried out by local governments in 22 other regions.

Key inspection items include compliance with standard labor contracts, the provision of winter-appropriate housing, mandatory insurance enrollment, and wage arrears. Additionally, through interviews with seasonal workers, authorities will intensively check for rights infringements, such as the unlawful retention of passports and bankbooks, proper wage payment, and whether workers can freely communicate and move externally.

If problems such as non-compliance with labor contracts or failure to provide proper housing are identified through the human rights inspection, corrective measures will be requested via local governments. If these measures are not implemented, penalty points will be imposed on the respective local government in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Justice’s Korea Immigration Service, and the allocation of foreign seasonal workers may be restricted.

Cha Yong-ho, Head of the Korea Immigration Service at the Ministry of Justice, stated, "The safety and human rights protection of foreign seasonal workers are fundamental principles that must be upheld. Through this joint fishery sector inspection, we will listen to the voices from the field and cooperate with related ministries and local governments to ensure the human rights protection of seasonal workers and the stable operation of the system."

Choi Hyun-ho, Director-General for Fisheries Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, noted, "It is crucial to substantially improve the working and living environments so that foreign seasonal workers can work with peace of mind in fishery sites. Through this inspection, we will closely examine factors causing human rights violations in the field and improve identified issues in cooperation with related agencies."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]