Migrant Workers of South Korea

Democracy as interpreted by modern states is often discriminatory in nature. The recent world trend shows that the it has become increasingly hostile and authoritarian, even the liberal democratic states are not spared of this blame. The question of discrimination comes when the state appears more hostile towards some groups, communities, religion, ethnic groups and class. The policies taken during the Cold War and high ambitions of certain countries worldwide has led to the creation of semi-peripheries. The end of the Cold War and the ongoing Globalization has dynamic push and pull factors which culminate to labour shortages in some, whereas labour surpluses in others.

South Korea after coming out of the economic crisis has reported a continuous growth in labour migrant population. They provide valuable labour to the country when the local people abandon some types of jobs because they are allegedly dirty and dangerous. These jobs are mostly taken by migrant workers and they are also liked by some employers because they are more disciplined than local workers. The problem arises because a significant number of these workers are staying in the country illegally. Other kinds of problems arise out of these because of human rights violations, overwork, injury while working and verbal and sexual harassment. Since they are not ordinary citizens and also do not have the protection of the law they are treated differently and offered no protection. Sometimes they face State oppression when they are caught and put to detention centres and sent back to their home countries never to come back again.

Recently however, due to constant agitation the South Korean government decided to allow the illegal migrants a certain amnesty period during which their visas will be extended and they would be allowed to work legally with proper protection. The decision came partly to stabilise the labour shortage in  domestic industries and partly for the aim to restructure the labour market according to international standards set by the World Trade Organization. However, in reality the migrant workers face hardships in their employment and also live with fear.

The Korean state for over the last several decades commanded significant hegemony over the civil society and regulated labour markets. It understood that low labour cost gave it a comparative advantage in the world system. But by the mid-1980s South Korea lost this comparative advantage as the world economy was continuously restructuring itself massively. It faced competition from adjoining countries in the region like China, Indonesia etc. The most significant change is the political democratization of the country in 1987 which pushed demands for increased wage and better working conditions. These changes started a chain of reactions.

The low labour cost as an advantage was now not favouring the country. The increased wages squeezed some small businesses. The businesses adopted automation, or sometimes moved their producing factories abroad to other low labour cost countries. The better living conditions of the population and the high consumption culture made the South Koreans reluctant in taking up high labour-intensive jobs. Workers have also migrated to the service sector thus resulting in the ultimate shortage in the manufacturing sector.

A government report shows that 80% of the foreign workers are illegal and 90% of them are unskilled. However, if compared, the total percentage of foreign workers in the industries is likely about 4-5% of the total number of employed workers in these industries. This makes the foreign workers very important for the economy since the small manufacturing firms solely depend upon them since they don’t have the resources for automation. There are primarily two types of foreign workers. The legal workers are primarily teachers, engineers, professors, journalists etc. The second are industrial trainees who are primarily recruited to cover labour shortages, and the rest are illegal workers.

The industrial trainees mostly come from developing countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines etc. They are mostly employed in plastic, glass, textile and auto-parts industry (small firms consisting a maximum of 50 employees). These are mostly short-term employment. Illegal workers are acquired by employers through many channels but a significant way in which trainees become illegal workers is when they leave their original employer (under which they were trainees) and joins another employer who provide them better

wages. Some enter South Korea through a travel visa and start working (illegally) under Korean firms.

Migrant workers generally come to Korea to earn money within a short time since the work is not permanent in nature and thus for obvious reasons the citizenship is left out of the equation. The living conditions among the foreign workers is highly unequal among themselves. The professionals, such as the teachers, the engineers etc receive four to five times higher wages than their counterparts employed in the manufacturing sector and thus enjoy a better standard of living. This often comes with better working conditions and job security. Foreign workers in the other two categories, industrial trainees and illegal migrant workers suffer the most because of delayed payments and long working hours. Absence of job security, health insurance protection and no help during industrial accidents are other demerits. When these illegal workers are laid off without payments, they have no legal protection by which they can obtain their wages.

Korea also has a long history of cultural homogeneity which makes the native population act  “exclusionary” towards the migrant workers particularly the unskilled illegal workers. Workers also face verbal and sexual harassment from their employers. 50% of these workers are Chinese and they face strong racial discrimination from Koreans, because they allegedly identify

themselves as Koreans.

South Korea still does not behave as the dominant core which provides employment to many  migrant workers, like the US and the UK and are mostly comprised of the service sector. South

Korea behaves as Wallerstein’s ideal semi-periphery which provides a place for the migrant workers, keeps the wages in the core countries low and provides a place for the dominant core

industries to set up their plants and firms. The South Korean government must implement its policies carefully which will benefit the workers. The recent demonstrations of these migrant workers for better working conditions and better health security press upon the urgent need the government needs to address.

Manish Dutta

Intern (AGA)