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Mar. 29  2024
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[AWN 121] 2002 Year of Big Changes

The situation of migrant workers in the last year was, comparing to the previous year of 1999, calm. In a way, the government checked undocumented workers harshly, and there was a new waves that a new trade union organizing migrant workers as its regular members. But the last year was not as active as the year 1999; there were hot confrontations among the capitalists, labor camp, and political bodies on accepting the employment permit system or work permit system.

Source  :  Asian Workers\' News

By Han Ei-no, Asian Workers' News Staff Reporter

The situation of migrant workers in the last year was, comparing to the previous year of 1999, calm. In a way, the government checked undocumented workers harshly, and there was a new waves that a new trade union organizing migrant workers as its regular members. But the last year was not as active as the year 1999; there were hot confrontations among the capitalists, labor camp, and political bodies on accepting the employment permit system or work permit system.
So, what is about the year 2002?
Anticipation is not simple; but it may be a year of big changes in quality and quantity.
Some important decisions bringing the big changes were already made in the late last year. Moreover, the two big sports events of the World Cup Football Game and the Asian Games held in Korea this year will make us not to avoid the shift changes.

Looking on the flow of changes, the government is expected to be out of control on the increasing number of newly coming immigrant workers till this October. And, after the Asian Games, a historically strongest crack down on the undocumented workers is expected.


In the long run, the new coming migrant workers will be probably an important troops to change the situation of migrant labor market in Korea, a country of xenophobia. This tendency will make the nationalities of migrant workers verify, and the stream of migrant workers freer.
However, that is only an anticipation for the long run, but if it is narrowed to within two to three years, it is likely that the nationalism tendency will show up due to Koreans¡¯ preference to overseas Koreans. The space for the migrant workers from the South East Asia and South Asia will be smaller and smaller. Let¡¯s check on the matters of changes.

1. New migrant policy of the Korean government
The Korean government on December 20 last year announced an advanced policy of the Alien Industrial Trainees Plan (AITP). The point of the policy was the changing of AITP, that the current 1+2 system would be changed to 2+1 system. So, the trainees will extend their stay terms in Korea to more two years after on year of working in Korea if they pass the qualification exam, while they are basically staying two years and extend more on year if they pass the exam. And, the government plans to have the Korean language test for the trainee appliers so that the more overseas Koreans will get the chance to be the trainees.
The business of selecting the trainees, which has been only to the recruitment agencies, will be selected by computer drawing with the appliers after the agencies recommend two fold trainee appliers than the recruited ones.
Also, the retirement insurance device is implemented that the trainees will put parts of their salaries and get them when they go homes back.

2. Problems of the policy
The migrant workers related organizations voice out opposing the policy. The Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea (JCMK) made a statement on December 24, pointing out the problems of it.
JCMK insists that the government only try to decrease the number of run-away trainees, not to utter the core problems of trainee system. JCMK asserts that the problems of recruitment process, low wages, and human rights violations should be solved primarily. Moreover, the police was only for the some 80,000 trainees, not for the 250,000 undocumented workers, JCMK pointed out. JCMK also insisted that the government should not exert to maintain the trainee system, called as the modern slavery system in the international society, but to practice the work permit system, that importing and managing foreign labor power by the government.

3. Overseas Korean Law termed not accordance to Constitution
The Constitution Court on November 29 last year judged that it is not accordance to the Constitution that the Overseas Korean Law (OKL) does not benefit the overseas Koreans in China and former Soviet Union. The Constitution Court is a court that judges whether any laws, systems, and judgments of various judicial courts are accord or not to the Constitution. As the Constitution is the most supreme law in Korea, the laws and policies which are judged not to accord to the Constitution should be revised. Hence the overseas Koreans living in China or Ex-Soviet Unions should enjoy the same treatments as the Koreans in Japan or USA.
The current OKL is applied to the Koreans who leave Korea after 1948, the year the Republic of Korea was founded. Hence, the Koreans and who left Korea in the first half of 20the century when Korea was under colonized by Japan.
The overseas Koreans applied by this law have almost the same rights as Koreans living in Korea. They can stay in Korea for two years, and the terms can be extended. They can freely enter and depart Korea without the government's permission. They are applied by the medical insurance if they stay over 90 days in Korea.


4. Influence of revision OKL
If the overseas Koreans residing in China or ex-Soviet Union will be newly covered by OKL, the benefactors are estimated about 2.5 million. If they will work in Korea, it is unavoidable that the Korean labor market is dramatically changed. The average number of migrant workers in Korea has been always 250,000 to 300,000. The number is equal to the need of migrant workers in the Korean labor market. Then, if there are always more than one million overseas Koreans working in Korea, the migrant workers¡¯ situation will meet a great change.
The Korean employers will prefer overseas Koreans who speak Korean well and are easy to be assimilated to the Korean society, to the migrant workers from South East Asian countries or other nations. Moreover, if the overseas Koreans will be hired, probably there is no worry that they will violate the Korean laws.
Toward the decision of the Constitution Court, the Chosunjok counseling centers, having Chinese Koreans as its clients, made one voice to welcome. But, it is known that the Chinese and Russian governments delivered their worries to the Korean government in various ways.
It means if the Korean government treat them as almost same as the native Koreans, it will create diplomatic disputes as they are the people of the countries.
On the top, if the new system is implemented, and the space for foreigners will be decreased, Korea will possibly suffer denouncement from the countries, which have been sending trainees to Korea. And, they may cite that it is a new style of racial discrimination.
5. World Cup and Asian Games
In June 2002. The FIFA World Cup Game will be held in Korea and Japan. As everybody in the world knows, the World Cup Game is, with the Olympic Games, the best sports event in the world. The first time Korea have a great influx of migrant workers was after the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. Korea had not been known well to the world before the Olympic Games. After the Olympic, Korea was shown as the land of opportunity to the youngsters in the developing countries in the world. The World Cup game is expected to have the same effect as the Olympic games.
The scale of effect is to be very different than before. At that time, travels abroad of youngsters were harder than now. Their visit Korea is easier, and migrant working is also more common than that time.
The reason that the influxes of migrants are increased in scale is that this event is held in both Korea and Japan. In the days of the games, the countries will be impossible to strict or block the comers. It means that it is not hard to get jobs in Korea or Japan on the occasion of the games.
Following to The World Cup Games is be finished in June, the Asian Games is also held in Busan in October. So, there will be another chance that a lot of Asian tourists will visit Korea.
As of those international events, it is expected that more and more foreigners will stay and work in Korea. Their nationalities will be also varied.
For example, Chinese soccer team will have their all group qualification games in Korea; at least 50,000 Chinese soccer fans are expected visit Korea. Don¡¯t Chinese, paying brokers 10 million won per each for coming Korea, might be fantastic to pay only one million won for coming Korea legally?
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