Migrant workers marked the 10th anniversary of a detention center fire that killed 10 migrant workers held there for working in Korea illegally.

At a press conference commemorating the incident in front of the immigration office in central Seoul, migrant workers groups called for better regulation of the deportation process and measures to allow migrants living in Korea illegally to attain legal status. 

The groups blamed the disaster, which also left 17 foreign workers severely injured, on aggressive enforcement of immigration law, saying that more than 30 people had died as a result of it since 2003. 

“Migrant workers, who work in environments that Koreans avoid, are essential for Korea’s development,” said Udaya Rai, president of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrant Workers’ Trade Union. “Despite this the Korean government is disregarding our rights and demands.”

The event coincided with research on migrant workers’ conditions by the Daegu Gyongbuk Migrant Workers Labor and Human Rights Council showing widespread perception among them of dangerous working conditions.

In a survey of 378 migrant workers in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province area, 55 percent of respondents said they felt at risk of workplace injury. Most reported working more than eight hours a day and 26 percent said their shifts lasted more than 12 hours.

Nearly 3 in 10 said they had been injured at work, but 38 percent said they bore the cost of treatment themselves. 

Only about half said they knew that they had a right to free treatment in such circumstances.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)