Brutal Crackdown on Migrant Workers in Deajeon Draws Protest
Against Immigration Office and Ministry of "Justice"

Video footage, released by the local newspaper Joongdo Ilbo (Daejeon), shows a female migrant worker being beaten by immigration officers during their - once again - brutal crackdown on un-documented migrant workers in Daejeon drew public anger and strong protest from migrant workers' groups.

In a video clip recorded around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday (4.08) by the Joongdo Ilbo, a Chinese woman is hauled by massive force to a prisoner van by two immigration officials at Daejeon Immigration Office. She strongly resists, screaming.

Seconds later, one of the officials, sitting across from the woman, attacked her despite her calmness. Crying out, she protests and begs in Korean, "I legitimately arrived here yesterday. Why do you beat me?"

Pro-migrant workers civic groups and labour unions condemned the authorities.

Eight civic groups there slammed the Ministry of Justice, which oversees immigration offices around the country, in a joint statement, calling the ministry "organized gangsters."

A migrant workers' union in Daejeon filed a complaint against the two officials with the prosecution.

Seo Min-sik, head of the union, said, "They should have played by the rules but they didn't."

Dozens of civic group members staged a rally in front of the Daejeon immigration building Friday afternoon.

They urged the office to apologize for the assault, discipline the officials, and set measures to prevent similar cases occuring.

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