Migrant worker’s passport photo spread online after workplace departure

Police have begun investigating allegations that the passport photo and other personal information of a foreign seasonal worker were circulated online after the worker left their workplace in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province.

The worker filed a complaint with Boryeong Police Station on Wednesday, claiming that personal information, including a passport photo, had been shared online without consent, according to the Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea.

The complaint alleges that two interpreters working with seasonal laborers posted the passport photo on social media after the worker left the assigned workplace.

The advocacy group said the image was apparently shared to locate the worker, who became undocumented after leaving the workplace, or to discourage other seasonal workers from doing the same.

The post later spread to an online migrant community with tens of thousands of members, the group said. Foreign bloggers then allegedly reposted the photo alongside disparaging comments, further widening its circulation.

The complaint names four foreign nationals living in Korea, including the two interpreters accused of initially sharing the image and two bloggers accused of reposting it.

The group alleged that the interpreters had taken on responsibilities beyond language assistance, including managing workers, and had effectively acted as labor brokers.

It also accused the Boryeong city government and Justice Ministry of failing to take appropriate action despite being aware of the issue.

The group raised a separate allegation that interpreters or other intermediaries had pressured the families of marriage migrants who invited seasonal workers to sign agreements requiring them to pay 50 million won ($34,000) if a worker left the assigned workplace.

“There is no legal basis for forcing people to sign such private agreements,” the group said, calling the practice an attempt to hold migrant families hostage.

The organization said it would hold a news conference Monday outside the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to denounce alleged rights abuses and illegal practices within the seasonal worker program.

A police official confirmed that the complaint had been filed and said investigators would review the allegations.