Hard choice for Malaysian in South Korea

SEOUL: A Malaysian woman who lost four fingers in a workplace accident here still wants to stay in South Korea to claim her due from her employer.

The former flight attendant used a tourist visa to enter the country and work illegally in a steel factory, where she met with the accident.

Sally (not her real name) is claiming that the compensation paid by her employer is not commensurate with the permanent disability she suffered.

She said the employer only paid the cost of the treatment and compensation of 27mil won (RM100,000) after reporting the incident to the South Korean Labour Office.

“I received treatment, monthly expenditure and some compensation, but only after I got help from a Malaysian activist who fights for the rights of workers like us.

“I consulted my friends, including some locals, and they said the compensation should be more than 40mil won (RM148,000),” she said when met in Itaewon district near here by a team from mStar Online, Star Media Group’s Bahasa Malaysia news portal.

The team was there to observe the situation of some of the estimated 5,000 Malaysians working illegally in the country.

Sally, 27, said she also met several lawyers who told her that the rights of every person in the country are the same, even if they do not have a work permit.

She is appealing for any Malaysian party to help her fight the case in court. She is, however, in a dilemma over her future.

She said she has to decide whether to receive a payment every month for the rest of her life but stay here, or be paid a lump sum and return to Malaysia.

“I am still here because I don’t know which is the better choice. Some may feel that the 27mil won I received is a lot, but in reality it is just like RM27,000 back home.

“After losing four fingers, I don’t know what work I can do now,” said Sally, who is from Kuala Lumpur.

She has been in South Korea since October 2016 after paying RM5,000 to an agent who promised to get her a job in the country.