Korean executive denies manipulation charges<\/p>\n
By Harry Bhaskara<\/p>\n
SEOUL (JP): A Korean executive has denied charges made by an
\nIndonesian labor supply company, which he represents, that he
\nsiphoned off US$30 million from the wages of Indonesian trainees
\nin Korea.<\/p>\n
\"On the contrary, the manipulation has been committed by the
\ncompany headquarters' in Jakarta,\" Han sun-dong, the
\nrepresentative of the Jakarta-based Binawan Group, was quoted as
\nsaying by the Korean-language Chosun Ilbo newspaper Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Binawan president Saleh Alwaini told Media Indonesia last week
\nthat the money was the wages of workers for the last two years.
\nThe group sent some 5,000 trainees to Korea during the period
\nwith monthly wages of $360 to $900.<\/p>\n
Han told Chosun that he had transferred a total of $6.6
\nmillion to Jakarta from June 1994 to August 1996 for the trainees
\nand added that he had kept all the transfer receipts with him.<\/p>\n
Another $2.2 million, he said, had been withdrawn from the
\nbank by the trainees themselves.<\/p>\n
Han also said that some 2,500 trainees working in Korea banked
\ntheir wages at the Hanil Bank in Yoido-dong totaling about $3.1.
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
\"The charges that I had privately kept the money in a bank
\nwere groundless,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Han said he had in fact asked the Indonesian manpower ministry
\nto investigate the alleged manipulation at Binawan Jakarta office
\nunder the instruction of the Korea Federation of Small Business.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian Embassy staff member here who met with Han
\nWednesday, confirmed that the Korean director had the bank
\ntransfer documents in his possession.<\/p>\n
\"I have seen the documents, a whole stack of them, sent during
\nthe two-year period. It is difficult to say who is on the wrong
\nside,\" Danto Ntoma, head of the Consular Department, told The
\nJakarta Post Thursday.<\/p>\n
Han, in return, charged that Binawan Jakarta manipulated the
\npassports of 36 Indonesians. He said some of the workers had been
\ndetained by the Korean immigration office awaiting repatriation.<\/p>\n
The mud-slinging came amid allegations of the extortion of
\nIndonesian workers.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is a blister. I have tried to address the issue
\nin the past but the problem seems to persist,\" Indonesian
\nAmbassador to Korea Mohammad Singgih Hadipranowo told the Post.<\/p>\n
\"Some worker supply companies have violated the government
\nregulation. I am really concerned about the fate of Indonesian
\nworkers here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sources have said Indonesian workers are asked to pay US$600
\nper person for a work extension permit.<\/p>\n
\"It is stated nowhere in the regulation,\" the honorary consul
\nof Indonesia, Kim Soo-il, told the Post. He pointed out
\nextortion, if the allegation is true, increases the hardships of
\nthe workers as the amount is equal to six weeks of their wages.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the workers come from poor families. They work here
\nbecause they need the money for the medical treatment of a sick
\nrelative or to finance the education of a family member,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Kim, who is also a professor of Southeast Asian politics at
\nPusan University, described how workers usually had to wait for
\nmonths before they were able to leave Indonesia for Korea, and
\nhow they often had to pay a great amount of money to the company
\nthat sent them.<\/p>\n
\"If the extortion charge is true, I'm afraid the workers will
\ngrow to hate their own government. I have a stack of letters
\nwritten by workers with tears in their eyes,\" Kim said.<\/p>\n
He said the alleged extortion has forced many Indonesian
\nworkers to work illegally, something which is not tolerated by
\nthe Korean government.<\/p>\n
\"Now there are six Indonesian workers staying with me, waiting
\nto be repatriated,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Djuhari Wirakartakusumah, an advisor to the Ministry of
\nManpower who was on a visit here, said he would report the matter
\nto Jakarta.<\/p>\n
More than 9,000 Indonesian workers work in South Korea,
\nincluding 3,000 seamen. The number, however, pales in comparison
\nto the 400,000 Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia and one million
\nin Malaysia. Unemployment is a big headache for the government
\nwith two million people entering the labor market every year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/korean-executive-denies-manipulation-charges-1447893297",
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