The unemployment benefit application counter at the Seoboo Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The unemployment benefit application counter at the Seoboo Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The number of foreign workers repeatedly collecting unemployment benefits by cycling through the same employer — quitting and being rehired multiple times — has been consistently rising, data showed. One recipient collected a total of 45 million won ($33,300) across 14 separate claims, all from the same workplace.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang on Sunday, dozens of foreign workers each year have collected unemployment benefits three or more times from the same employer.

The number of such repeat claimants — those receiving benefits at least three times from the same workplace — rose from 45 in 2021 to 61 in 2022 and 62 in 2023. The figure stood at 58 in 2024 and 62 in 2025, and 46 cases had already been recorded through July this year.

Foreign workers who collected benefits five or more times also increased. The figure climbed from 9 in 2021 to 15 in 2022, 16 in 2023, 19 in 2024 and 23 in 2025. Through July this year, 11 workers had already reached the five-claim threshold.

Some cases exceeded 10 claims. The most prolific recipient collected unemployment benefits 14 times from the same employer, receiving a total of 45 million won. A worker with 13 claims received 42 million won, while one with 12 claims also received 45 million won. There were three cases of 11 repeat claims and four cases of 10.

However, repeat claimants account for a smaller share of total foreign unemployment benefit recipients than their domestic counterparts. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, repeat claimants made up 1.9 percent of all foreign unemployment benefit recipients last year — roughly one-third of the 6.6 percent rate among Korean nationals.

Fraudulent unemployment benefit claims by foreign workers are also on the rise. Last year, authorities detected 285 cases of fraudulent claims for unemployment and job-promotion benefits among foreign workers, with the total amount improperly received reaching 240 million won.

Through July this year, 183 cases involving 209 million won in fraudulent claims had already been detected — well over half of last year's full-year total. Prior to last year, annual fraud detections stood at 238 cases in 2021, 200 in 2022, 213 in 2023 and 199 in 2024.

Questions are being raised about whether the practice of repeatedly quitting and rejoining the same employer to collect multiple rounds of unemployment benefits is consistent with the system's intended purpose of supporting workers during genuine periods of joblessness. Experts have raised the possibility that some employers and workers are colluding through repeated short-term contracts — allowing employers to avoid severance pay obligations while workers use unemployment benefits as a supplementary income source.


bbo@heraldcorp.com