More than 4,700 immigration law violators were caught in the last two months along with over 1,100 employers who hired them, Justice Ministry officials said Sunday.
The ministry said it caught 4,751 foreigners in breach of immigration law including some 3,600 who worked here without a visa. The rest were people whose visas had expired.
The ministry has carried out an intensive crackdown against illegal immigration since September in cooperation with police and other ministries. Under the Immigration Control Law, immigration offices can take foreign nationals who are illegally working in Korea into emergency custody and issue them exit orders. The foreign workers are subsequently repatriated to their home countries unless they are granted refugee status.
Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese accounted for the highest numbers of people caught. Most of them were found to have worked in factories, construction sites, massage parlors or bars, the authorities said.
Of the employers who were caught, 79 were sent to prosecutors on charges of hiring a large number of illegal aliens. The rest were fined up to 20 million won ($17,000).
Along with the crackdown, the ministry encouraged about 4,500 illegal residents to voluntarily return to their countries.
The ministry has vowed to strengthen its crackdown against illegal brokers who find work for foreign nationals, as well as illegal immigrants and employers.
By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)
