Supreme Court: Dispatching Illegal Immigrant Workers to Workplaces Does Not Violate Immigration Law

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has confirmed the acquittal of a business owner who was prosecuted for employing illegal foreign workers dispatched from a manpower dispatch company.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Lee Ki-taek) announced on the 17th that it upheld the lower court's ruling acquitting business owner A, who was charged with violating the Immigration Control Act.

The court stated, "The interpretation of criminal laws must be strict, and interpreting them unfavorably to the defendant beyond the possible scope is not allowed under the principle of legality, which prohibits expansive interpretation. The Dispatch Act stipulates that those who use dispatched workers are considered employers, but there is no such provision regarding the application of the Immigration Control Act."

Under the Labor Standards Act, dispatching is included in employment, so A, who received illegal foreign workers, could be recognized as an employer and punished. However, this is not the case under the Immigration Control Act.

A was prosecuted for dispatching 40 foreigners without domestic residence status from a manpower dispatch company between January 2015 and August 2016.

A was charged with violating the Immigration Control Act, which punishes those who employ people without the residence status allowing employment activities.

The first trial court acquitted A, ruling that although A received labor from illegal foreign workers, there was no contract with them, making it difficult to consider it a direct employment relationship.

The court also found it difficult to establish intent on A's part, as A was unaware that the foreigners were illegal residents when employing them.

The appellate court also maintained the first trial's ruling, stating, "It is difficult to interpret 'employer' under the Immigration Control Act to include business owners who indirectly employ workers by receiving dispatched workers. Simply requiring foreign workers to work only at designated workplaces does not make the business owner an employer."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.