Human Trafficking, Labour Export, and Public Policy: A Comparative Law Perspective on Safeguarding Vietnamese Migrants in Korea

This article examines structural intersections between labour export policy and human trafficking in the South Korea–Vietnam bilateral migration corridor. Drawing on the Palermo Protocol, ILO standards for identifying and preventing forced labour, and a comparative legal analysis of anti-trafficking legislation in selected Asian jurisdictions, it identifies legal, policy, institutional, and implementation gaps within South Korea’s Employment Permit System (EPS) that expose Vietnamese migrant workers to exploitation and forced labour. The formal architecture of bilateral labour governance—while internationally recognised as a managed migration model—exhibits institutional deficiencies in recruitment oversight, workplace protection, and access to legal redress. Through comparative analysis with the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan, the article proposes legislative and policy reforms oriented towards coherent social protection and criminal accountability. The argument contributes to public law scholarship on the governance of labour migration and the imperative of rights-protective bilateral cooperation to address structural trafficking vulnerabilities.