The government plans to intensify its crackdown on illegal foreign workers and their employers.

The plan for tough crackdown on illegal employment of foreign workers was announced in a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor Thursday.

The government enforcement will now be focused on the criminal prosecution of the employers and job-placement brokers of the illegal workers, along with human-rights violators.

Until now, local employers of illegal foreign workers have been punished with a fine alone, triggering questions over the efficiency of government crackdowns.

The ministries estimate the number of foreigners illegally staying in South Korean has increased from 130 thousand at the end of last year to more than 160 thousand as of June.