Foreign victims of battery plant fire overlooked by labor authorities

All foreign workers who perished in a fire at a battery factory in Hwaseong were found to be outside the oversight of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Concerns are rising as the government increases the hiring of foreign workers to address domestic labor shortages, yet gaps in oversight are also expanding.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday, the Aricell lithium battery plant, where the incident occurred, is not registered under the Employment Permit System (EPS). The deceased foreign workers reportedly held various visas, such as the Overseas Korean visa (F-4), the Marriage Immigrant visa (F-6), and the Visit and Employment visa (H-2), rather than EPS visas.

The EPS is a system where businesses in specific industries, including manufacturing, that face domestic labor shortages can apply to hire foreign workers through the Labor Ministry. Foreign workers entering under the EPS are issued either the Non-professional Employment visa (E-9) or the Visit and Employment visa (H-2). However, the Ministry only tracks and manages those holding the E-9 visa. Chinese workers often hold the H-2 visa, and the government does not specifically monitor these individuals. Additionally, since Aricell is not an EPS-registered company, it was even further outside governmental oversight. According to Statistics Korea, out of approximately 1.43 million foreign residents in the country last year, only 269,000 (18.8%) held the E-9 visa.

Experts emphasize the need for a 'control tower' to manage the increasing number of foreign workers. "Foreign workers might not be aware of evacuation methods or safety protocols during disasters due to language barriers," said Hwang Pil-kyu, an attorney at the GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation. "With the expansion of workplaces subjected to the Serious Accident Punishment Act this year, smaller businesses with many foreign workers need more stringent management." Lee Seung-gil, an Ajou University's Law School professor, explained that a control tower to integrate and manage is needed for foreign worker policies, which are scattered across various ministries.


김예윤 기자 yeah@donga.com