An undocumented foreign resident stands during an interview with the Hankook Ilbo in Seoul in this Mar. 20 photo. Human rights activists and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a powerful umbrella labor union with 1.2 million members, demanded, Tuesday, that the government stop its crackdown on undocumented immigrants and grant them right to stay here. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-suk

Human rights activists and the migrant workers' division of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major labor union with 1.2 million members, demanded on Tuesday that the government cease its crackdown on undocumented immigrants and grant them the right to remain in the country.

At a rally in central Seoul, they said the government's catch-and-deport policy has been proven to be ineffective and urged policymakers to learn from their more liberal counterparts in other countries to integrate undocumented immigrants as members of society.

"It's time for the government to pursue policies that will grant them the right to stay here," more than 100 rights organizations and the KCTU said in a joint statement.

Citing policies like the U.S.' DACA, which allows immigrants brought to the country as children to stay and work, the protesters argued that the Korean government should abandon its crackdown-centered approach and "stop criminalizing" undocumented immigrants.

Their somewhat radical stance of allowing undocumented foreigners to stay here is seen as part of the KCTU's efforts to broaden its coalition among workers. This stance sharply contrasts with the government's consistent position, which regards such individuals solely as law violators.

Since Sept. 30, the Ministry of Justice has been intensifying its crackdown on foreign nationals residing in the country without valid visas, in collaboration with other government ministries and agencies. This focused operation is set to continue until Nov. 30.

According to the ministry, an unprecedented 23,724 foreign nationals were apprehended for unlawful stay in the first six months of this year. As of last year, more than 423,000 individuals were residing in Korea without valid status, representing a slight increase from the previous year.

The protesters argued that these numbers serve as evidence that the crackdown policy is ineffective.

"While the number of undocumented immigrants remains unchanged, unfortunate incidents have occurred during the crackdown process," they said, noting that a lack of protection for these individuals has led to numerous human rights violations.

As an example, they referenced an incident involving a Vietnamese woman who died earlier this month after falling off a cliff in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, while attempting to evade immigration officials.

The activists at the rally accused politicians of neglecting the issue for too long, saying that they are aware that efforts to improve the rights of people without voting rights will not benefit them politically. However, the activists argued that the issue has now become too significant to ignore

"I want to ask the government: Do you really think that violent crackdowns will resolve the issue of undocumented immigrants? Do you really believe that, despite Korea's demographic shift and low birthrate, our economic system could function without their contributions?" KCTU Senior Vice Chairman Lee Tae-hwan asked.

"Stop the violent crackdowns, guarantee the right to stay for undocumented immigrants, and fundamentally change the immigration policy," he said. "The KCTU will continue to fight for their rights and combat discrimination against them."

So far, neither of the two dominant political parties has responded to these calls. However, in a recent press release, Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party urged the government to enhance efforts to gather more accurate data on foreign residents, stating that the current system is inadequate for collecting information on undocumented individuals.