Tulsi Poon Magar, who had come to South Korea to work in the agricultural sector under the Employment Permit System (EPS), was found dead on Friday night.

Magar from Malika Rural Municipality-1 Niskot, Magdi used to work at Nan Usong Bangur Farm in Chhallanamdo Yangamgun, South Korea. He arrived in Korea only 6 months ago. His colleagues have claimed that Magar committed suicide because he could not bear the constant torture from his employer and supervisor.

Just a few days before the incident, 6 Nepali workers including Magar appealed for rescue through a video saying that they were being beaten. In the video, Lal Bahadur Tamang, Prem Bahadur Tamang, Ruk Bahadur Singh, Surendra Thing, Ghanshyam Ghimire and Tulsi Pun Magar said that they wanted to leave the Bangur firm as they were being tortured.

I have been beaten up four times within two months of coming here. Lal Bahadur appealed in the video, "That's why I don't want to stay in this company. Tulsi also said that he was being beaten up in the video. Our problem is the same. Save us,' said Tulsi. However, he could neither leave the company nor return to Nepal. He chose the path of suicide.

Maia Kandel, Labor Counselor of the Nepali Embassy, ​​Uday Rai, President of Korea's Official Migrant Trade Union (MTU), Bipin Kumar Gurung, President of Non-Resident Nepali Association, Korea, arrived on Monday to understand the issue of Nepali workers in the company, which is about 360 km away from the capital Seoul. Before them, the victimized workers together with the Nepali supervisor Sujan Shah and the Korean employer demanded that action should be taken against the culprits saying that they took them to a corner where the CC cameras could not see them and beat them, did not allow them to carry mobile phones, and did not allow them to leave the company. 15 Nepalis including 3 women worked in

company. But the supervisor of the farm, Shah, has admitted that everyone could not stand together and tell Sahu about the mistreatment of him. "We should have talked to the creditor two weeks ago. This situation would not have happened if everyone had helped at that time," Supervisor Shah told the team, "Nobody could stand in front of Sahu because of fear. This happened now. I also want to go back to Nepal. I have not done injustice.

Nepali Ambassador to Korea Shivamaya Tumbahamfe said that the Korean government has been requested to conduct an impartial investigation of the incident. A team of Labor Councilors was sent to investigate the incident. According to Korean law, the police will investigate," she told Kantipur. Labor councilor Kandel, who reached the scene, said that the employer has promised to improve if there is a weakness on his part. A worker received a release paper on Monday to allow him to work in another company. Others will be given within 15 days,” she said.

The Migrant Trade Union (MTU) has said that it will file a police complaint against the employer. MTU President Rai said that he will hire a lawyer to bring the torturing employer to justice and fight the case. According to him, the trend of torture and suicide of foreign workers in Korea is increasing recently. 

"173 people committed suicide in 2022 among the migrant workers who came to work after being called by the Korean government, this should be stopped," he said, "The bad policies and regulations related to the migrant workers in Korea, the discrimination against them, the bad workplace and forced work under the pressure of the company are causing physical and mental stress." Most of them died due to illness and suicide. Due to the behavior of the employer, the workers have contacted the embassy to change the company.

The embassy has also been providing services from psycho-social consultants for the mental health of workers from time to time. It is very difficult to work in Korea. Paying attention to small matters is not enough. It should be done quickly. If we don't get the job done, they scold us, they complain to us for being loud," MTU president Rai said, "mostly the agricultural sector is in the rural areas. Residents do not have easy access to markets. Once inside, there is no outside contact. This may also have had a psychological impact.'

Rai said that in Korea, when employers have more rights, workers are being exploited. It seems that Tulsi committed suicide as she could not be saved. He couldn't even work on one hand. On the other hand, he could not stay in the company. I was afraid to return to Nepal immediately. He said, "everything is under stress." He said that until there is a law that makes the directors of the

company legally responsible, the workers will continue to be exploited. 10 people do what 20 people do. No major action is taken against the operator. The law is loose. They have done it themselves. When you go to the police with a case of assault, you are told that there is not enough evidence. There is even more discrimination against foreigners. It is only good in some," he said.

Nepal has been sending workers to Korea since 2007 under the government mechanism (EPS). So far, 130,000 Nepalese have gone under EPS. Currently, 73 thousand Nepalis are working in Korea. The government of Nepal does not have the details of the workers who have faced problems through EPS. Nepali workers have filed complaints directly at the labor office in Korea. As a result, the Ministry of Labor does not provide details about the problems faced by the workers in Korea.