Gov’t ordered to compensate foreign teacher over HIV test

A court ordered the state, Wednesday, to compensate a New Zealander for forcing her to undergo mandatory human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing under a now-lifted government regulation while working here as an English teacher.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that the government has to pay 30 million won ($25,900) to the New Zealand national, as the policy violated another law, as well as her human rights.

The policy, which had been implemented in 2007, required compulsory HIV testing for those applying for an E-2 visa, which qualifies them to teach English here, along with tests for narcotics.

When the woman worked at an elementary school in Korea as an English teacher in 2008, she was asked to take the test in order to renew her employment contract. But she refused and the contract was not renewed.

She then filed petitions with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), insisting that mandatory HIV testing violated the human rights of foreign teachers in Korea.

In May 2015, the CERD told the Korean government to remove HIV testing from the visa requirements, and urged it to provide compensation for mental and material damages, and in September 2016 the NHRCK also backed up the recommendation.

Following these, the government scrapped the regulation in 2017.

The Seoul court said the past policy was also against the AIDS Prevention Act that bans employers from requiring HIV testing of employees. “The rule should have been applied to foreign employees as well,” the court said.

“Forcing a person, who was not subject to HIV testing according to the law, to submit test results violates the AIDS Prevention Act. It is also against the government’s duty to protect people who might face disadvantages by being mistaken for HIV carriers.”