This has become a hot issue shaking the Thai labor sector after the Republic of Korea announced a "blacklist" banning the import of seasonal agricultural and fishing workers from four major northeastern provinces: Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, and Maha Sarakham, throughout 2026.
According to high-level sources, some Thai workers who traveled on E-8 visas, short-term visas for agriculture and fishing under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between cities, have fled their employers during their work period. Authorities are now investigating the true causes. Initially, discussions are planned with the South Korean embassy, followed by representatives from the Ministry of Labor traveling to South Korea to understand and address the issues further.
The main cause is the problem of Thai workers fleeing employers while working under E-8 visas, short-term visas for agriculture and fishing, dispatched under an MOU between cities.
When some workers choose to abandon their contracts to seek higher wages as "ghost workers," it severely undermines trust. This led South Korean authorities to decide to suspend labor imports from these four provinces for a full year as a punitive measure and to enforce stricter controls in the future.
The follow-up question is: despite strict laws and high chances of deportation, why do Thai workers still take the risk? The huge wage gap is a key factor. South Korea's minimum wage is around 50,000 to 70,000 baht per month (depending on overtime), which is 3 to 5 times higher than the average income in Thailand.
The "shortcut to wealth" mindset and the success stories of those who send money home to build houses and buy cars motivate others in the community to take their chances. The demand for cheap labor leads many Korean employers to hire illegal workers because they "match the physical demands" and "earn less" than the increasingly scarce local labor force.
Illegal Thai workers often infiltrate labor-intensive (3D: Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult) industries that younger Koreans avoid, including:
Agriculture and livestock: fruit orchards (pear, grape), pig farms, chicken farms, and mushroom cultivation facilities.
Construction industry: from scaffolding to concrete work, requiring many workers willing to work in harsh weather conditions.
Small and medium-sized factories (SMEs): plastic factories, waste separation plants, or food processing factories.
Service sector: massage parlors (some offering illicit services), dishwashing jobs, or cleaning staff.