The government will inspect massage parlors and adult entertainment establishments throughout South Korea to root out the hiring of foreign nationals who live and work here illegally.

The investigation, announced Sunday by the National Policy Agency and the Ministry of Justice, will be carried out from Feb. 18 to March 31.

The agencies said they would take countermeasures against the businesses because they corrupt public morals and encourage people to stay in the country illegally.

If police find any foreign nationals working in the industries illegally, the Ministry of Justice will impose strong penalties against the foreign workers. The ministry will also contact the governments of the brokers’ countries and disclose their names in an effort to prevent any recurrence.

The police agency and the ministry carried out a similar investigation for 10 days in December and uncovered 464 foreign nationals working illegally in massage parlors and entertainment places for 127 employers.

The ministry also caught four brokers and 10 foreign nationals working illegally in the adult entertainment industry.

“Both the police agency and the ministry are taking measures to root out crime by foreigners and reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country, as the number has been rapidly increasing these days,” the Ministry of Justice said.

By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)