South Korea Issues Formal Apology Over Cambodian Worker's Tragic Death in Freezing Greenhouse Dormitory
South Korea's labour ministry has issued a formal apology to the family of a Cambodian migrant worker who died in a makeshift greenhouse dormitory, following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld government liability in the case. The ministry has pledged to reinforce protections for foreign workers and intensify inspections to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
Court Ruling and Compensation
The apology came after the Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a lower court verdict that found the South Korean government liable for the worker's death. The court directed the government to pay 10 million won (approximately £5,000) in compensation to each of the worker's parents, acknowledging systemic failures in protecting migrant labourers.
Tragic Circumstances of the Death
Nuon Sokkheng, a 30-year-old Cambodian national, was found dead in December 2020 inside a vinyl greenhouse that was being used to house migrant workers at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi province. She had arrived in South Korea on a work visa four years earlier and was employed on the farm planting and harvesting vegetables.
While liver cirrhosis was officially declared as the cause of death, critics and media reports have pointed to her poor living conditions as the underlying root cause. On the day of her death, temperatures had plummeted far below freezing, and she was alone in the greenhouse dormitory, which she shared with four other migrant workers under normal circumstances.
Systemic Housing Problems for Migrant Workers
Despite repeated government promises to outlaw the use of vinyl greenhouses and other makeshift shelters as housing for migrant farm workers, the practice remains widespread across rural South Korea. This persistent problem is driven by chronic labour shortages in the agricultural sector and a severe lack of affordable, legally compliant accommodation options.
A 2021 government survey revealed alarming statistics, finding that approximately 70 per cent of migrant workers in the agriculture and fishing industries lived in provisional shelters provided by their employers. These included shipping containers, greenhouses, and structures assembled from temporary panels, all of which fail to meet basic safety and living standards.
Government Response and Proposed Reforms
The labour ministry has vowed to take concrete action to address these systemic issues. In a statement released on Thursday, the ministry announced plans to push for legal revisions that would explicitly prohibit employers from using illegal temporary structures as accommodation for foreign workers.
"We will push to revise the law so that employers cannot use illegal temporary structures as accommodation for foreign workers," the ministry stated. "At the same time, we will strengthen support for improving such illegal or deteriorated housing through a newly established program this year."
The ministry has committed to intensifying inspections of migrant worker housing conditions and implementing stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with safety standards. These measures represent a significant step toward addressing the longstanding vulnerabilities faced by foreign workers in South Korea's agricultural sector.
