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Right to change jobs offers a lifeline for migrant workers

Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 00:03

Won Ok-kum

The author is a representative of the Migrant Center Donghaeng and is originally from Vietnam.

The sea is often described as a symbol of shared abundance. But for a migrant worker aboard a fishing vessel, it can feel more like a vast prison. The story of a fisheries worker, identified here as A, who recently visited a counseling center reflects the despair that has surfaced repeatedly in recent years. He came to Korea believing in its reputation as an advanced country. What he encountered instead resembled a modern form of servitude.

Fishermen and migrant workers shake freshly caught spring anchovies from their nets at Daebyeon Port in Gijang County, Busan, on April 7, 2025. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

Fishing work does not follow fixed hours. Once at sea, workers labor day and night, while bad weather can prevent departures or shift work back to land. For that reason, contracts are typically structured on a monthly salary basis. Yet A’s contract was set on an hourly basis, a mismatch that should have been flagged by employment or supervisory authorities but was not.

Even under that hourly contract, his actual pay bore little relation to the hours worked. He was paid a flat 100,000 won (about $70) per day at sea and 80,000 won for work on land, regardless of the time spent working. When the shipowner called, he had to go. When no call came, he remained confined to a deteriorating dormitory. On those days, he earned nothing. The result was an income too low to sustain even a basic livelihood.

Despite these conditions, A could not leave. Under Korea’s Employment Permit System, changing workplaces is not a guaranteed right for migrant workers but is effectively subject to the employer’s approval. This restriction leaves workers tied to exploitative conditions with little recourse.

Behind such cases lies a system riddled with gaps. Basic procedures, such as reporting the number of crew members to the Coast Guard when a vessel departs or arrives, are often ignored in practice. Even when shipowners omit such reports to reduce labor costs, enforcement is weak. Without official boarding records, workers have little means to prove their working hours. The problem is compounded when workplaces are classified as having fewer than five employees, a threshold that excludes them from key protections under labor law. In effect, legal and institutional frameworks combine to push these workers into a blind spot.

Amid these realities, a recent amendment proposed at the National Assembly offers a possible turning point. The bill, introduced by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-woo and others, seeks to remove restrictions on workplace changes for foreign workers. Under current law, workers can only change jobs if they personally prove clear employer fault, such as assault or unpaid wages. The amendment would eliminate such constraints and grant workers the principle right to terminate contracts and move to new workplaces at their own discretion.

The significance of this change goes beyond a technical revision of the law. It signals a shift in how Korean society views migrant workers, from disposable labor to individuals with dignity. When the right to change jobs is guaranteed, market forces can begin to function. Employers who mistreat workers or suppress wages will find it difficult to recruit labor. To retain workers, they will have to offer reasonable contracts and basic humane conditions. In that sense, the right to mobility becomes a safeguard for minimum standards that laws alone have failed to enforce.

The government and business groups warn that such changes could lead to labor shortages in rural and coastal areas. They argue that migrant workers may gravitate toward metropolitan regions offering better pay and conditions, undermining local economies. Yet this raises a fundamental question: Should the problem be addressed by restricting the rights of the most vulnerable?

Migrant workers wearing “non la” (Vietnamese conical hats) harvest potatoes in a rural village in Gangneung, Gangwon, on July 23, 2025. [YONHAP]

Labor shortages in certain regions are issues that should be resolved through fair compensation and improved living conditions, not by binding workers to specific employers. Economic stability built on forced retention raises concerns about whether such arrangements align with broader principles of justice.

The International Labour Organization has long warned that Korea’s Employment Permit System carries elements that could be construed as forced labor. The contradiction is increasingly difficult to ignore. Korea presents itself as a country committed to human rights on the global stage, yet migrant workers within its borders are denied the constitutionally guaranteed freedom to choose their occupation.

For those working on isolated vessels, in factories filled with dust or in greenhouses under intense heat, the right to leave is not merely about convenience. It is a critical protection for their basic right to survive.

The proposed amendment deserves prompt passage and implementation. For many workers like A, who endure injustice in silence, it represents a long-awaited response. A society in which individuals can work with dignity and walk away from unfair conditions is not an aspiration but a basic standard. Granting migrant workers the freedom to change jobs is the first step toward that goal.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.