About 150 Vietnamese workers have been arrested after South Korean authorities started the search for foreigners illegally living and working in the country.

South Korea searches for foreigners illegally living and working in the country

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, South Korean agencies raided areas that popular with foreign workers. The authorities have gone to public locations such as bus stops, markets and supermarkets to check necessary papers.

The agencies have also encouraged labour centres and members of the public to turn informer to report on illegal workers while tightening their supervision on the internet to detect transactions with illegal workers.

Statistics from the South Korean Ministry of Justice showed that from April to June, nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants agreed to return to their countries to avoid penalties. Most of them are Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese.