[Editorial] New "foreigner policy" is not enough

Posted on : 2006-05-27 10:00 KST Modified on : 2006-05-27 10:00 KST

The government announced a new policy regarding foreigners yesterday, and said the emphasis will now be on understanding and respect instead of the approach in the past, which was on regulation and management. The government has specific policy goals in mind for non-ethnic Koreans, often people who have immigrated because of marriage, refugees, and foreign laborers. This change in the government’s policy is something of an inevitability, since as of last year foreign nationals accounted for as much as 1.55 percent of South Korea’s population.

The government's approach to foreigners has long been the target of criticism. The treatment of and discrimination against migrant workers has long been controversial. International human rights groups cite Korea as a country that suppresses migrant workers' rights. Korea hardly ever recognizes refugee status?save for North Koreans?and the requirements for permanent residence and citizenship are hard to meet. The standards for granting permanent residence make it hard for foreigners to even think of applying unless they have a lot of money to invest here. The rapid increase in the number of international marriages, particularly in agricultural areas, shows the urgent need for a policy that is working to get the country ready for the multicultural era.

Looking at the government's new policy, one does see that a lot of thought has been given to the issues. For example, it will introduce a program through which ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship will be allowed to more easily find employment, measures for preventing the abuse of foreign women, programs for protecting the rights of illegal aliens, and measures to guarantee the ability of children of illegal aliens to receive education. If those policies are followed up with the needed provisions and determination, many of the country’s problems will be resolved.

However, this is still not enough. There is not much in the policy that would contribute to eradicating discrimination between foreigners in Korea. Foreigners have been given the right to vote in upcoming elections, but this applies essentially for Chinese living here for multiple generations, because for others the conditions would likely be too hard to satisfy.

There is also far from enough consideration for migrant workers. The 2003 United Nations convention on migrant workers' rights stipulates that workers must be guaranteed various rights that include the right to choose where they live and work, and the right to free association. Even if Korea cannot permit all the rights it calls for at once, there should be no further delay in the eradication of the industrial workers program and in improving the "hiring permit program." The government quickly needs to follow up on its new policy with measures to improve the situation.

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