Migration Jurisprudence from the South › South Korea
Limits on changing workplace under the Employment Permit System
Constitutional Court of Korea · South Korea · 2011-09-29 · National court
Citation: [case number to be added]
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided against the migrant side
Question
Does limiting migrant workers to three changes of workplace during their permit breach their freedom to choose an occupation?
What the court decided
No. The Court upheld the limit in the Act on Foreign Workers’ Employment.
In plain language
Workers who come to Korea under the Employment Permit System can change employer only a few times. They asked the Constitutional Court to remove this limit. The Court kept it.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Pekerja yang datang ke Korea lewat Sistem Izin Kerja (EPS) hanya boleh beberapa kali pindah majikan. Mereka meminta MK menghapus batas itu. MK mempertahankannya.
Pertanyaan: Apakah membatasi pekerja migran hanya tiga kali pindah tempat kerja selama izinnya melanggar kebebasan memilih pekerjaan?
What happened afterwards
- 2007, 2009: Complaints filed.
- 2011-09-29: Limit upheld.
- 2020–2021: A new complaint against the system was also rejected (reported).
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/kr-eps-2011/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.