Thai Broker and Korean Employer Referred to Prosecution for Illegal Human Trafficking

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- A Thai national and her South Korean employer have been referred to the prosecution on suspicions of illegally bringing multiple Thais to South Korea and extorting their wages, immigration officials said Tuesday. The 37-year-old Thai broker, who is married to a South Korean, is suspected of colluding with a travel agency operator in Thailand to post false advertisements offering jobs in South Korea for an immigration fee of 120,000 Thai Baht (US$3,745), according to the Seoul Immigration Office. The woman then brought six Thais into South Korea illegally and arranged their employment at a chicken farm run by the Korean employer, aged 43, the office said. To avoid being caught by immigration control, the woman was found to have flown to Thailand with her husband and children on three occasions and returned with the workers disguised as family members. Once they arrived in the country, she took the workers' passports in order to receive compensation for helping their illegal entry and kept them in lodgings installed with surveillance cameras. Separately, the broker is also suspected of arranging illegal employment for 10 undocumented Thai nationals between July 2025 and January 2026 and receiving their wages into her account as commission fees. The broker and her employer have been referred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for further investigation and possible charges of violating the Immigration Control Act.