The death of a 25-year-old Vietnamese worker during an immigration raid in Daegu has intensified criticism of South Korea’s immigration enforcement strategy, raising human rights concerns while exposing tensions between the government’s efforts to attract foreign workers and its desire to protect local jobs.

The incident occurred on Oct. 28, just days before South Korea hosted the highly publicized Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. It was part of an expanded immigration enforcement campaign that the Ministry of Justice launched the previous month to ensure “safety and order” around the event.

As outrage spreads, civic and labor groups have