A growing labour union, formed last year, is challenging Korea’s visa rules, branding them “modern-day slavery.” Foreign English teachers demand the right to change jobs without employer permission, citing abuse and harassment.
Foreign English teachers in Korea formed a nationwide labour union for the first time last year, advocating for the rights of around 13,000 instructors at language institutes and public schools.
One of the main goals of the union is to eliminate laws that make it illegal for non-Korean workers holding certain types of employment visas to change jobs without their employers’ permission.
All non-Korean workers employed on E-type visas are required to obtain a ‘Letter of Release (LOR) to switch jobs. Failure to secure an LOR usually results in the worker being required to leave the country within 30 days.
Union manager condemns “modern-day slavery”
Park Jeong-jik, the Korean manager of the union’s Seoul branch has gone on record to say that this system makes it extremely difficult for foreign workers to speak out against unfair workplace practices, including sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
“It’s modern-day slavery,” he told The Korea Times. “The government uses this system to monitor foreign workers in Korea. They should improve it to track the industries they are engaged in rather than monitoring them.”
Ministry of Justice hits back
In an email responding to The Korea Times’ request for comment, the Ministry of Justice stated that an LOR is designed to protect the contractual trust between employers and employees, maintain orderly immigration status and safeguard the interests of well-intentioned employers.
“If foreign workers are allowed to change jobs freely, it may disrupt the labour market, as they could breach their contracts with their original employers and leave their workplaces without authorisation,” it said.
The ministry also noted that foreign workers can change jobs without an LOR if their original employment contract has been completed or if they were dismissed or resigned early due to reasons not attributable to them, such as business closure, suspension or unpaid wages.
Number of native speakers plummets
In a country where high scores on English language proficiency tests like the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) are crucial for securing good jobs, there has been a strong desire to learn the language from native speakers.
As of December 2024, 13,443 foreign nationals held E-2 visas, according to the Korea Immigration Service. Most of them teach English.
Most foreign teachers work in South Korea’s 100,000 hogwan (cram schools), where 95% of Korean students attend after-school classes in English and other subjects. These schools are now struggling to recruit the mostly North American teachers who traditionally arrive in the country every year
The government-backed programme which places native speaker teachers in mainstream state schools across the country has also been hit.
