Seoul to Conduct Comprehensive Survey on Concerns of Foreign Workers at Construction Sites

22% of Regular Workers at City-Commissioned Sites Are Foreign Nationals
Survey on Wage Arrears and Harassment, Alongside Preventive Measures

On September 3, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will conduct a survey on the concerns of foreign workers employed at construction sites commissioned by the city, and will implement activities to prevent workplace harassment.

Draft Poster for Preventing Workplace Harassment of Foreign Workers. Provided by Seoul City

As of April, out of the 4,531 regular workers at construction sites commissioned by Seoul, 1,005-or about 22%-were foreign workers. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of foreign workers in the domestic construction industry increased by approximately 33% in 2024 compared to 2020, indicating a steadily growing reliance on foreign labor.

Recently, in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, a foreign worker died from overwork after shortened working hours during the summer heat were applied only to Korean workers. In response, Seoul is taking proactive measures to prevent harassment issues at construction sites, considering the steadily increasing dependence on foreign workers.

The survey targeting foreign workers will focus on major concerns such as wage arrears, workplace harassment, and abusive treatment. The city plans to use multilingual questionnaires, taking into account the nationalities of the foreign workers assigned to each site.

To ensure that foreign workers can easily access support systems, information on how to use and participate in grievance counseling centers will be provided during TBM (Toolbox Meeting) sessions. The city also plans to implement its own preventive activities, such as producing and posting multilingual "Harassment Prevention Reporting Posters" at worksites or distributing them online to individual workers.

Through this comprehensive survey, the city aims to identify the actual concerns of foreign construction workers and will include their opinions in the annual survey of construction project stakeholders. This will be used to improve policies and eradicate harassment and discrimination at construction sites.

Kim Seungwon, Director of Construction Technology Policy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "We will continue to improve policies and implement preventive activities so that foreign workers can work safely in an environment where they are respected and not discriminated against at construction sites." He added, "Based on this survey, we will develop practical measures to protect the rights and interests of foreign workers."