The justice ministry says it had some 18-thousand illegal immigrants leave the country following a joint crackdown. 

The ministry said on Thursday that it caught eight-thousand-476 illegal aliens, one-thousand-692 people who illegally hired such foreigners and 16 brokers following a joint crackdown conducted between September 30 and November 30. The joint effort saw the participation of the Korean National Police Agency, the Korea Coast Guard as well as the transport and labor ministries.

Of the total foreigners with illegal status, the ministry ordered seven-thousand-419 to leave the country while slapping fines on 720 of them. 

The ministry said a total of 18-thousand-526 illegal immigrants had left the country with the latest crackdown, noting that the figure included the 11-thousand-107 who left voluntarily. 

According to the ministry, it caught a total of 43-thousand-404 illegal immigrants between January and November of this year to set a new record. Of that total, it had 41-thousand-461 leave voluntarily.