This file photo, taken on May 30, 2024, shows a housing facility for foreign workers in Eumseong, a county located in North Chungcheong Province in central Korea. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

A bill has been proposed by a group of lawmakers to improve the housing conditions of foreign migrant workers in Korea.

Submitted to the National Assembly on Wednesday by Rep. Park Hae-cheol and nine other legislators from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the bill aims to amend the law to require potential employers to provide adequate housing facilities before hiring non-Korean citizens.

Currently, Korean employers who provide housing for foreign workers are required to ensure that the lodgings meet the criteria outlined in the Labor Standards Act and to inform potential employees about these arrangements in advance.

However, there is no system for government authorities to conduct checks during this process. As a result, most violators of the law go undiscovered and unpunished.

If the Assembly passes the bill, employers seeking to hire foreign workers will be required to provide information about the housing they will offer to the regional authorities responsible for managing the employment process and obtain approval before signing work contracts with prospective employees. Additionally, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will need to conduct regular inspections of the housing offered and mandate improvements if they do not meet quality standards.

Under the Labor Standards Act, lodging facilities for workers must include bathing areas and be equipped with heating and cooling systems, as well as proper ventilation and access to sunlight.

In addition, the facilities must be located away from areas prone to noise and natural disasters, such as landslides or avalanches. They should also be designed to ensure the privacy of workers by providing appropriate locking systems for bedrooms and bathrooms.

However, in reality, many of the facilities used by foreign workers fail to meet those standards.

According to data released last year by Statistics Korea, 20.2 percent of workers on nonprofessional employment, or E-9 visas, in the country were found to be residing in inadequate housing, such as makeshift shelters and greenhouses.

In October 2024, two Thai workers employed by a Korean farmer in Pyeongchang, a county in the mountainous eastern province of Gangwon, were discovered dead inside a greenhouse that they had been using as accommodation for several weeks. It was later determined that they died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

“There was a recent case of foreign workers dying in a greenhouse, highlighting that their basic human rights, including safety and health, are not adequately protected due to poor housing conditions,” said the lawmakers supporting the bill.