The high pay which illegal Thai migrant workers in South Korea earn could be a key factor in their decision not to return home, despite being offered a chance to voluntarily depart South Korea without being prosecuted and blacklisted from re-entering, according to a Thai academic.
"The pay they earn in South Korea for one hour is equivalent to the wage they receive for working a whole day in Thailand, which explains why so many people want to go to work there," said Saman Laodamrongchai, a senior researcher at Chulalongkorn University's Asian Research Centre for Migration.
On average, illegal Thai migrant workers earn between 40,000 baht and 50,000 baht a month, he said.
"Most of them send all their monthly pay back home while they live off the extra pay from overtime work which is also high," he said.
However, the researcher discounted the possibility of the Thai government winning South Korea's approval on any request to temporarily allow Thai migrant workers already working illegally in South Korea to stay on while trying to obtain legitimate work permits.
"There are as many as 300,000 illegal migrant workers in South Korea so the country won't be able to provide any privileges to any particular nation," he said.
Of these illegal migrant workers, 120,000 are estimated to be Thai.
"Pushing for a larger quota of legal Thai workers under South Korea's Employment Permit System (EPS) would appear to be more likely to win the approval of the South Korean government," he said.
Most of the illegal Thai workers in South Korea entered the country on tourist visas, having paid illegal work placement brokers both in Thailand and South Korea to assist them in getting through South Korean immigration checks and then in finding work, he explained.
A number of illegal Thai workers in South Korea, meanwhile, started out as legal workers but later changed jobs without following the steps required under South Korean labour law.
"Many of them left their employers for better pay elsewhere, while others simply wanted to work together with their spouses or friends at a different workplace," he said.
When the number of illegal migrant workers becomes too high, South Korea normally implements a voluntary departure programme to encourage them to leave without facing legal action or being blacklisted from re-entering.
"But in the event that they are arrested for overstaying their tourist visas, they are swiftly deported and blacklisted for 10 years from revisiting South Korea," he said.
The most common types of work among illegal Thai workers in South Korea are massage, agriculture and labouring in small factories.
"Korean authorities sometimes simply turn a blind eye to those employers hiring illegal migrant workers. They [employers] are mostly operators of small businesses and agricultural businesses that offer poor working conditions," said a source familiar with the issue of illegal migrant workers in South Korea.
"Several employers in the agriculture sector who do not have work for their employees all year long allow their workers to go to work temporarily with other employers without formally allowing them to change employers," said the source.
Most recently, the Office of Thai Labour in Seoul issued a warning against growing rumours that illegal Thai migrant workers in the country may be able to obtain legal work status without having to leave South Korea.
"The Korean justice ministry doesn't have such a policy and anyone living and working in South Korea illegally will strictly be prosecuted if arrested," according to the warning given by the office.
Since Oct 1, South Korea has been encouraging illegal migrant workers to take part in a voluntary departure programme that lasts until March 31 next year, as part of a fresh crackdown on illegal migrant workers.
"Some groups of these workers in South Korea have begun to feel the heat already, writing concerned posts on social media warning other workers about more frequent checks on their work and living places," said an informed source.
Some posts highlighted a surprise raid on a Korean barbecue restaurant that was a popular employer of Thai workers, while others showed pictures of Thai workers hiding from authorities or running away from them, according to the source.
Despite this tougher situation, the illegal business of assisting Thai people to work illegally in South Korea is still booming as always. Brokers continue to post job opportunities openly on websites and social media, the source said.
Various types of work are advertised on the internet with highly attractive salaries guaranteed, particularly the massage jobs that promise between 80,000 baht and 180,000 baht a month.
Anyone interested in these jobs can apply even without any knowledge or skills in massaging as training is promised along with a basic Korean language course, according to several advertisements posted online.
An unnamed Thai woman in her 40s who had intended to work illegally at a massage spa only for the three months of the tourist visa she gained from an agency, soon changed her mind and now continues living and working illegally there due to the high pay she receives, said the same source familiar with illegal migrant work in South Korea.
At her age, the woman was adamant that she would not be able to find a better paying job in Thailand if she chose to return. She is now sending back home 70,000-80,000 baht a month to support her two children who are studying at university.
Of course, the woman insists she earns that high income purely because of her massage skills and no sex is involved in her case, said the same source.
Mr Saman, however, said he had information that a huge number of Thai women working illegally at massage spas in South Korea form part of a hidden sex trade in the country.
Massage jobs are reserved for Korean nationals only, particularly people with disabilities.
"There are both real massage parlours and ones that offer illegal sexual extras," he said.
Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo has previously ordered a step up in crackdowns on brokers who advertise illegal work overseas. Offenders are being threatened with having their assets frozen and bank transactions suspended.
A special team has been set up to keep an eye the internet and social media for such advertisements and Facebook pages, while more teams have been deployed to Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in a surveillance programme on Thais leaving the country for these destinations.
Aside from South Korea, Japan is also another popular destination for Thai workers seeking under the counter work abroad.
A recent survey by the Department of Consular Affairs found that a total of 14,468 Thai nationals who entered Japan on a tourist visa have not yet left and are now working illegally in the country.