A group of individuals has been charged with orchestrating an elaborate scheme that placed Kenyan marathon runners in illegal employment at seafood farms along South Korea’s southern coast. (Image courtesy of the Changwon Coast Guard)
CHANGWON, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – A group of individuals has been charged with orchestrating an elaborate scheme that placed Kenyan marathon runners in illegal employment at seafood farms along South Korea’s southern coast, the Changwon Coast Guard announced on November 19.
According to authorities, a 29-year-old marathon runner affiliated with a local sports association has been arrested and detained, while two others – a 52-year-old coach from another sports association and the runner’s 33-year-old spouse – have been charged without detention.
The group is accused of facilitating illegal employment for seven Kenyan marathon runners at aquaculture facilities in South Gyeongsang Province between November of last year and July.
The suspects allegedly collected approximately 34 million won from the Kenyan athletes as part of the scheme. They obtained visas by submitting forged invitation letters from prominent South Korean marathon events to the Korean Embassy in Kenya.
The operation, marketed on social media as the KK Project, promised to recruit 300 Kenyan workers. The organizers created promotional videos claiming that “Korean seafood farms offer easy work with high wages” and unauthorized use of a naturalized Kenyan-Korean athlete’s name to lend credibility to their scheme.
All seven Kenyan nationals were registered athletes with the Kenyan Athletics Federation, with one having previously won awards in Korean marathon events. Despite knowing they would not be participating in athletic events, the runners allegedly agreed to the arrangement because even modest wages in Korea would translate to significant earnings in Kenya due to currency exchange rates.
Six of the seven athletes have already returned to Kenya, while authorities are currently tracking the whereabouts of the remaining individual.
Kim Young-cheol, head of the Changwon Coast Guard, emphasized the need for stricter oversight of foreign athlete invitations by sports organizations, noting that this case involved both the unauthorized use of a naturalized athlete’s identity and illegal employment facilitation.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
