Police Conduct Search and Seizure at Korea Foodservice Industry Association for 'Illegal Employment Mediation of Foreigners'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit announced that from the morning of the 29th, they have been conducting a search and seizure operation targeting the office of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association in Jung-gu, Seoul, in connection with allegations of illegal employment brokerage for foreigners.

The police are investigating suspicions that the Association collected a total of over 1 billion KRW in fees, ranging from 3 million to 6 million KRW per person, while directly brokering employment for hundreds of Chinese locals from 2014 to early 2019. Starting this morning, the police have begun a forced investigation, conducting search and seizure operations at the Association's office, the Jeju Foreign Workforce Support Group office, and targeting an executive of the Association, Mr. A.

Under current law, only employment security agencies are authorized to broker foreign workers, and anyone other than authorized agencies who brokers employment and receives money is subject to punishment. Additionally, the police are investigating allegations that some executives of the Association accepted bribes ranging from 1 million to 15 million KRW in exchange for employee promotions, following the filing of a complaint.

Founded in 1955, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association is the largest private professional organization in the country, with 420,000 member establishments.

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