Following a crack down on illegal aliens last month, the Justice Ministry said Friday that it has since identified some 400 employers who have hired around 1,500 illegal workers.

The ministry will slap fines on all employers in accordance with the number of illegal workers they hired and the period of employment. A good portion of the illegal laborers are known to have been deported from the country already.

A ministry official added that increasing numbers of illegal workers are volutarily leaving the country, driven in large part by the continuous government crackdown against illegal residents in South Korea.

The official asserted the government would make consistent efforts until the number of illegal residents goes below 100,000.