Palau govt detains Korean employer of ‘abandoned’ Saipan cultural group

The Palau government has arrested and detained a Korean man after some 11 cultural performers from Saipan complained that they were abandoned by their employers and have not been paid back wages and benefits.

In a telephone interview, Palau’s Labor division chief Russ Masayos disclosed that local authorities detained one Korean national, although he could not name the person as of press time.

Earlier reports said, though, that one of the two Korean employers, Kim Dae Woo, had already fled Palau, and that the workers asked the labor division to hold the departure of their other employer, Kim Sung Ki, who had also planned to leave the island. Masayos could not confirm yet if the detained Korean national is actually Kim Sung Ki.

Masayos said his office has forwarded the complaint to Palau’s Attorney General’s Office, giving terse answers to interview questions.

“It’s been forwarded to the attorney general’s office, so they’re [AGO staff] handling the case,” Masayos said. “It’s under investigation.”

Masayos refused to elaborate when asked why the complaint was forwarded to the AGO, which may file criminal charges against the workers’ employers in a judicial court.

He confirmed, though, that 11 workers from Saipan complained of unpaid wages and repatriation tickets.

“They have a housing,” Masayos said, when asked of the workers’ situation. Masayos said his office would investigate if the workers were the ones shouldering their housing costs.

At least one worker, Rose Fejeran, reportedly expressed fear of being ejected from an apartment in Meyuns, where she and her co-workers are being housed.

That apartment is reportedly owned by businessman Seon Soob Ha, the same owner of the Hanpa Group of Companies that also operates the Lake 2 Restaurant, where the dance group used to perform. Ha reportedly sponsored the two Korean employers’ stay in Palau.

The 11 workers are members of the Siba Afi [Fire Dance] group, which performs Hawaiian and Polynesian dances. Some of them are as young as 18. Nine of them are U.S. citizens. Three other members of the group have reportedly returned to Saipan since last month, with their parents shouldering their plane tickets.

The workers who remain stranded on Palau include group manager Mel Hal Taitano, singer Fejeran, and dancers Jose D. Guerrero, 18; Jedyleeh Quizza F. Castillo, 19; Eldred Reyes Shai, 19; Catherine Shai, 20; Jesse John Castro, 21; Melody Ngirchongor Blunt, 22; Fritz Passi, 22; Dean Pangelinan, 25; and Ray Ngirchau Ruluked, 36.

The two Korean employers reportedly contracted the dance group on Saipan last June to perform at the Lake 2 Restaurant in Medalaii, Palau, after watching the group perform at a Saipan hotel and cultural park. The group arrived on Palau for a six-month contract, which was supposed to expire in March 2005.

Upon their arrival on Palau, the workers were made to clean their apartment and the stage where they were supposed to perform was not yet completed, the group’s manager disclosed.

The group reportedly performed Hawaiian and Polynesian dances four nights weekly at Lake 2 Restaurant, which sometimes had no customers present. It later found out that another dance group was not getting paid their wages.

The Korean employers allegedly abandoned the workers after having a misunderstanding among themselves, when the business failed to pick up.