If you have questions about visas, alien registration or life in Korea, you can call 1345. This is the Immigration Contact Center (외국인종합안내센터), run by the Ministry of Justice, with support in many languages including Vietnamese.
What does 1345 help with?
- Questions about immigration, visas, alien registration cards and other residency procedures.
- Consultation on daily-life matters for foreign residents.
- Three-way interpretation (caller, call-center agent and the other party) when you deal with government offices, public institutions or the Village Lawyer service for foreigners.
- Since 27 May 2026, a line for reporting human rights violations (see below).
How to call and choose your language
- Dial 1345 from a landline or mobile phone in Korea, no area code needed.
- Listen to the prompt, press the number for your language, then press the star (*) key. Vietnamese is number 4, so press 4 then *.
- To speak to an agent right away, press 0.
- From abroad, dial +82-2-1345.
Hours and languages
- Weekdays (Monday to Friday), 09:00 to 22:00.
- After 18:00, only Korean, English and Chinese are available. Call before 18:00 if you need another language such as Vietnamese.
- The center supports about 20 languages, including Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Mongolian, Indonesian, Nepali, Khmer, Burmese, Tagalog and Arabic.
Human rights reporting line: dial 1345, then press 1
From 27 May 2026 the Ministry of Justice added a "press 1" option after dialing 1345 for foreign workers whose rights have been violated. Calls go straight to a specialized multilingual counselor, so you do not need to work out which agency handles your problem.
Covered cases include unpaid wages, assault or violence, sexual harassment or sexual violence, passport confiscation and forced labor. The main target groups are holders of E-9, E-8, E-6 and E-10 visas, and marriage migrants.
According to published information, cases can be referred to immigrant rights protection officers at regional immigration offices, crime victim support centers, the Village Lawyers for Foreigners program and regional labor offices. If you do not have a Korean phone number or cannot call safely, some reports say you can contact the "Migrant Rights" Facebook page.
Beware of impersonation scams
The Ministry of Justice has warned about calls pretending to be government agencies in order to scam foreigners. According to a Korea Herald report, 1345 does not call foreign residents on its own initiative. If someone claiming to be the Ministry of Justice or Immigration Office calls and asks for money or personal information, hang up and call 1345 yourself to check.
Tips
- Have your alien registration number, visa type and the question ready.
- Call before 18:00 to reach a Vietnamese-speaking counselor.
- For questions about a specific application, also check HiKorea or ask your local immigration office.
Note: hours, numbers and services may change. Check the Ministry of Justice's latest notices. This is not legal advice.
Sources: UNHCR Korea, "Government Helpline for Foreigners in Korea"; Korea Herald (24 Nov 2025); KLawGuru, "South Korea's dedicated hotline for foreign workers' human rights complaints: press 1 after 1345" (3 Aug 2026). This English version was compiled by Cẩm Nang Hàn Quốc.
