Criminal charges were filed against 66 individuals over alleged illegal “brokering” of Filipino workers seeking employment in South Korea’s seasonal workers program, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) chief bared Saturday.

“We have uncovered a broker system scheme,” DMW officer in charge Undersecretary Hans Cacdac told reporters in a news forum. 

He noted that the operating brokers were Korean agents and they have Filipino counterparts. Cacdac disclosed that these brokers usually served as intermediaries for the recruitment in the seasonal workers' program. 

Cacdac said the brokers usually charged exorbitant fees ranging from P20,000, P30,000, and P40,000 to as high as P100,000.

The Seasonal Worker Program in Korea relieves labor shortages in farming and fishing within communities by hiring additional foreign workforce.

The program allows Filipinos to get short-term employment to address labor shortages during the peak planting and harvesting season in South Korea.

Citing DMW data, Cacdac said there were 3,353 Filipino seasonal workers in South Korea as of December last year. 

Cacdac said the agency wants to remove the broker system so the seasonal workers could get their total earnings. 

He added that these brokers charge as high as “one-fourth” of a worker’s earnings. The official described it as “too expensive.”

The DMW has already identified the 66 brokers operating in the Philippines. 

 “We want to stop this broker system…We filed cases against them before the DOJ (Department of Justice)—illegal recruitment and estafa cases. We are cooperating, coordinating with the DOJ,” Cacdac said.