Korean Expats Get Guest Worker Status

The “guest worker” system will be introduced in Korea for Koreans living in China and former Soviet Union countries. Multiple entries visas (valid up to five years) allowing for three years of stay for an entry will be issued to the expatriates, who had difficulties visiting their mother land. In addition, as part of an effort to resolve social prejudices and discrimination against those who emigrate to Korea to marry and their children, the Korean government decided to build networks by nations they are from, and expand social welfare and health care services for them.

On May 26, the government held the first policy committee meeting for foreign residents in Korea (committee head: Prime Minister Han Myung-sook) at Cheong Wa Dae. In the meeting presided over by President Roh Moo-hyun, they decided to adopt those policies to protect the human rights of foreigners, promote social integration, and attract excellent human capital from overseas.

The government decided to eliminate the limit that foreigners must apply for a refugee status within one year of entrance to Korea, and allow them to complete an application without a time constraint. The government will also introduce an “intern visa” for those expected to graduate from universities outside Korea, and extend the duration of stay for an entry to Korea from three years to five years for highly skilled foreign workforce.

For illegal foreigners who voluntarily leave Korea, the government plans to extend the current 14 day-preparation time period up to 90 days to ensure that they receive the house lease deposit and unpaid wages. The government also decided in a humanitarian move to allow children of illegal foreigners’ children attending primary school to leave Korea after the children complete the semester or school year.

An official at the Ministry of Justice said, “Currently, 1.7 foreigners (a total of 820,000 as of late April) are living in Korea for every 100 Koreans due to a steady increase in the influx of foreign workers and foreigners married to Koreans. Changes in policy for foreigners are inevitable as Korea is rapidly changing into a multi-culture society.”

Last year, 43,121 Koreans married foreigners (13.6 percent of the total marriages reported), three times higher than the 2002 figure of 15,913. The policy for foreigners committee was launched by the government as a single organization to integrate all government policies related to foreigners. It has a prime minister as its head, ministers from 17 related ministries and offices including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and seven representatives from the private sector.

The committee decided in the meeting that it will set major policy tasks for each of the six targets: Korean expatriates with foreign nationality, foreigners married to Koreans, foreign women and children, refugees, foreign workers, illegal foreigners and Koreans.

Jin-Kyun Kil leon@donga.com