20 OFWs arrested in South Korea

At least 20 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been arrested in South Korea and thousands more are facing the same fate, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

Reydeluz Conferido, labor attaché to South Korea, said the arrested Filipino industrial trainees were deported to the country as part of the South Korean government’s drive against overstaying foreign workers.

Conferido said Filipino industrial trainees who are staying illegally in South Korea have only three days left to avail themselves of amnesty or face arrest and payment of fines from $3,000 to $8,000.

Of the estimated 28,000 OFWs in South Korea, nearly half are undocumented, of whom 5,000, in turn, are runaway industrial trainees.

Conferido said the South Korean Ministry of Justice is offering amnesty for foreign runaway trainees.

He, however, clarified that there is no ongoing crackdown on OFWs in South Korea. Intensified police operations are concentrated in areas with high criminal activities, he said.

OFWs in South Korea, he said, have a very low runaway rate compared to migrant workers in other countries.

"OFWs are running away not because of problems at the worksite but mainly because they want to stay longer and work," he added. Foreign workers are not allowed to stay for more than two years in South Korea. — Mayen Jaymalin