Korea urged to improve migrant policy to reflect needs
This article is the last in a four-part series to highlight and address issues surrounding marginalized residents of foreign nationality who are living in legal blind spots in Korean society. — ED.
The struggles experienced by foreign residents in Korean society are becoming more and more complex over time, as they face various challenges depending on their employment status, family environment and financial standing.
However, the government’s policies on migrant support measures overall are focused on legal status, often failing to align with the actual needs of each migrant, according to immigration experts.
In many cases, whether or not foreign residents are eligible for a government support program depends on the type of visa they are holding, rather than the circumstances they are in, leaving many migrants seeking support in blind spots.
“Given that the needs of each migrant vary, the support system needs to turn into a socioeconomic need-based policy,” Steven Hamilton, chief of mission for the Seoul office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told The Korea Times.
“The country should not unnecessarily allocate resources for people who do not require support from the government. Rather, the resources should be given to the needy regardless of legal status or nationality if a person stays long term,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the state support programs targeting only specific migrant groups may adversely affect their integration into Korean society since it could stigmatize migrants as a “burden,” with associated discrimination and hostility toward non-Koreans still commonplace.
“Such support measures that separate migrants from local residents often provoke a backlash among Korean nationals who view the policies as reverse discrimination,” Yoon
In-jin, head of the Korean International Migrant Studies Association, told The Korea Times.
Therefore, instead of continuing to introduce separate welfare programs and operating support centers specifically for foreign residents, it is advised to gradually integrate them into the existing administrative system and welfare programs, Yoon said.
While revising migrant policies will be a long term task for the government in building an inclusive society, some issues regarding marginalized residents of foreign nationality in legal blind spots should be addressed immediately, experts noted.
To begin with, more freedom should be given to migrant workers under the Employment Permit System (EPS), which prevents them from changing jobs without the consent of their employer.
“There is too much power vested with the employers and too many instances where this power has led to exploitation of workers. Migrant workers should have the same rights to seek better employers without excessive proof needed,” Hamilton said.
Yoon said, “Although migrant workers under the EPS are not permanent residents, it is the government’s responsibility to guarantee their basic human rights during their stay in Korea. The labor authorities should thoroughly review the system and fix the rules if necessary, to better reflect the needs of employees.”
In addition, they urged the government to take a humanitarian approach on the issues surrounding undocumented children, who face deportation after graduating high school.
“Whatever mistakes a child’s parents made to end up undocumented should not be passed down to the child. These migrant children are fully integrated in Korea and are well prepared to contribute to Korean society if given the chance,” Hamilton said, adding that the government should find ways to retain them, within permanent pathways, for the best interests of the country, as well as the child.
When North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong in June last year, the regime named the working group as one of the reasons for poor relations between the South and North, with Kim Yo-jong condemning it as “a U.S.-obedience trap that South Korea set up by itself.”
While signaling an end to the group, the U.S. promised greater support for any possible inter-Korean dialogue.
During his meeting with Unification Minister Lee In-young, Tuesday, U.S. envoy Kim said Seoul and Washington “are very closely aligned on all important aspects of our North Korea policy,” and the U.S. supported “meaningful inter-Korean dialogue, cooperation and engagement.”
The comment is in line with the outcome of the summit between Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden in May, which included Washington’s reaffirmation of the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration. The declaration states that the two Koreas would make efforts to establish a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee said that “now is a critical watershed moment at which we can move into dialogue mode,” and Seoul and Washington should move in “an active and agile manner through a consensus.”
After the meeting with the unification minister, Sung Kim met President Moon to discuss cooperation and coordination between the two nations on North Korea issues.
“The Biden administration’s gradual approach toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through talks and diplomacy is appropriate,” Moon was quoted as telling Kim by presidential spokesman Park Kyungmee.
He also stressed that South Korea and the U.S. should cooperate to enable improvements in inter-Korean relations and talks between Washington and Pyongyang to progress in a “virtuous cycle.”
Kim reaffirmed U.S. President Biden’s support for meaningful conversation, engagement and cooperation between the two Koreas, and pledged he would do his utmost to get talks between Washington and Pyongyang restarted, Park said.
After meeting with Moon, Kim had talks with National Security Advisor Suh Hoon.