Korean government and politicians, respond to the desperation of immigrants!

Foreign residents, have you felt that Korean society is currently somewhat noisy? Korean society is currently in turmoil, not only because of the issue of increasing the number of students admitted to medical schools, but also because of the National Assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 10th.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Multicultural News is participating in the ‘Voters’ DM (Direct Message)’ project conducted by Ohmy News (www.ohmynews.com). Gyeonggi Multicultural News delivered a message on behalf of immigrants through ‘voter’s DM’, which means directly delivering a message to candidates who want to become members of the National Assembly. -Editor’s Note

 

The author has worked in the migrant and multicultural field for a long time. Nevertheless, I am not immigrants. This part was on my mind when making suggestions to the candidates running in this general election. However, since the proportion of people who have acquired nationality among multicultural families or immigrants is far less than half, we decided to send a message on their behalf.

Immigrants are a class of people that national assembly candidates pay little attention to because they do not have the right to vote. So, is it okay for us to ‘treat’ them poorly and ‘ignore’ them as a policy? Anyone who wants to work for the country must think deeply about this issue and answer it.

 

Who wanted their move to Korea?

The more prejudiced people are toward foreign workers, the more they say these things to them. ‘Who told you to come to Korea? 'Go back to your country!’

But this statement is clearly wrong. The Korean government decided ‘as a policy’ that foreigners should come to Korea for various reasons, such as labor shortage and spouse shortage. That is why the Foreign Employment Permit System (EPS) was created and the marriage immigration visa (F-6) was created.

The problem is that there was a shortage of labor, so labor was brought in, but ‘people’ came. No one should forget this fact. they are people If only we could import labor, we would gladly do so.

According to the Korean government's judgment, we accept more than 100,000 foreign workers each year. As a result, 1.88 million foreigners are currently staying in Korea (as of the end of 2023, excluding short-term stays, Immigration Policy Headquarters). The surprising fact is that 400,000 of them are unregistered (illegal) immigrants. Why? Why do they stay outside the system we created?

Last year, the Ministry of Justice cracked down on and deported 38,000 illegal aliens, the largest number ever. The Ministry of Justice is very proud of these achievements. However, the number of illegal immigrants, which was 410,000 at the end of 2022, increased to 420,000 at the end of 2023. Rather than decreasing, it actually increased. Although 38,000 people were kicked out, the reality is that 48,000 more become illegal immigrants. There is no doubt that the Ministry of Justice and foreign workers are in a desperate struggle every year.

At this point, the Ministry of Justice should be questioning what it is doing. Otherwise, it is no different from acknowledging that the Ministry of Justice's policy intention is to expand the number of illegal immigrants.

 

The life of an immigrant bound by the visa code

Researchers and scholars who have long considered the issue of foreigners' stay point out that there is a fundamental problem with Korea's visa policy. This means that foreigners' lives are limited to the visa code they receive when entering Korea. For example, foreigners who come to Korea to work receive an E-9 visa, which does not allow them to engage in other activities in Korea. You must not change jobs arbitrarily, you must not get married, and you must not have children. Going to school at night is also not allowed. In Korea, you only have to do 'work' and if you want to pursue other activities, you have to leave. What kind of nonsense is this in a liberal democratic country?

E-9 workers should not change jobs because it will cause difficulties for the boss in managing the company. You can get married, but you cannot enter the country because a visa is not given to your spouse. The same goes for your children.

What would happen if a man and a woman who had already come to Korea with an E-9 visa met, got married, and had children? It is almost impossible for mothers to receive childbirth benefits at work. Visas are not given to children born in Korea. In the end, the mother has no choice but to leave the country with the child or become an illegal resident.

Depending on the life cycle, humans engage in various activities such as studying, marriage, and childbirth. However, Korea's visa policy is that while you come to Korea to work, even if the period exceeds 10 years, you must only do 'work'.

The marriage immigration visa (F-6), which allows relatively freedom of movement, also has its share of problems. When 20 years have passed since marriage immigration, there are many cases where parents in their home country become old and sick. However, you cannot invite your parents to Korea.

This is because the Ministry of Justice never allows anything other than a 3-month short-term visa. There are tears of blood in the eyes of marriage immigrants who are unable to take care of their lonely parents in their home country, but there are no exceptions. Fortunately, the Korean government also shows potential for change. The Ministry of Justice only announced last year that it would allow E-9 workers to attend college, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recommended that cases where E-9 workers are unable to extend their visas due to the company's fault be improved by 2025.

 

Politics must respond to their earnestness

The problem is desperation. How much does Korean politics know and how much does it care about the earnestness of foreign workers who come to Korea to work, the earnestness of multicultural families who immigrate to Korea through marriage, and the earnestness of international students who come to Korea to study?

Foreign workers' desperate desire is to work stably in a better job. Multicultural families are most desperate these days to invite their native families, who are having difficulty making a living, as seasonal workers so that they can work in Korea even for a short period of time. International students hope to find a job and obtain a better visa to live in Korea after graduation.

However, all of this earnestness is in line with the demands of the Korean government. Korea, which has entered an aging society with a low birth rate, also hopes that foreigners will come to Korea and play this role. However, the Ministry of Justice continues to fight to oust them and foreigners fight to remain.

The Korean government can expand the scope of movement so that immigrants can make changes in their lives according to changes in each life cycle. Instead of focusing only on achieving policy goals, we need to listen to the desperation of immigrants. Not only the government but also the National Assembly needs to pay attention to this issue and establish legislation and other legal systems that can guarantee a decent life for immigrants.

Then some people will say this. ‘We are busy making a living, so how can we take care of people from other countries?’ That makes sense. However, we must remember that what we need is not simply labor or materials, but ‘people’. We can't live happily when someone around us is unhappy. If you think that way, it borders on arrogance.

Now is the time to realize the founding ideals of the Republic of Korea. The 'Hongik Ingan' spirit, which widely benefits humanity, does not only benefit Koreans. We all must listen and respond to the earnestness of the immigrants living among us. I hope that a politician with this kind of awareness will appear in the newly formed 22nd National Assembly.

Song Hasung Reporter