President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday ordered police and the labor authority to conduct a thorough investigation into an air gun assault on a migrant worker, calling the incident a "barbaric human rights violation."
Lee Gyu-yeon, senior presidential secretary for public communications at Cheong Wa Dae, conveyed the president's directives in a written briefing. President Lee also instructed the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other relevant agencies to take active measures to ensure injured migrant workers can stay in the country and receive hospital treatment regardless of their residency status.
Lee, the senior secretary, said the president ordered officials to "use this case as an opportunity to review the current state of human rights violations against foreign migrant workers," stating that "violence and discrimination against migrant workers, who are socially vulnerable, is a serious crime that cannot be tolerated under any circumstances."
The president added that "migrant workers, who are valuable partners with whom we must build the future together, must be treated as persons whose dignity is guaranteed." He stressed that "stern action is necessary, as barbaric human rights violations against them are serious crimes that undermine a desirable future."
According to a media report, the owner of a manufacturing company in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, allegedly used an air gun to inject high-pressure air into a migrant worker's body, causing severe injuries including organ damage. The employer also allegedly attempted to forcibly repatriate the seriously injured victim rather than provide medical treatment.