New immigration agency needed to address population woes, justice minister tells lawmakers

Politics

Published: 06 Dec. 2023, 19:40

New immigration agency needed to address population woes, justice minister tells lawmakers

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon explains his ministry's bill to establish a new immigration agency before lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon on Wednesday called on lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) to approve the establishment of a new government agency to manage rising immigration to Korea, which he touted as a partial solution to the country's gradual population decline.

During a rare appearance at a gathering of PPP lawmakers, Han said that his immigration reforms are “not aimed at bringing in as many foreigners as possible” but intended to “accept only necessary foreign nationals while cracking down on illegal immigration.”

According to a bill submitted by the Justice Ministry to the National Assembly last month, the proposed immigration agency will consist of four new bureaus tasked with executing immigration policy, running criminal background checks on new arrivals, verifying the visa status of foreign residents, and fostering the integration of immigrants into Korean society.

Establishing a new government body requires the National Assembly to approve an amendment to the Government Organization Act.

In its bill, the Justice Ministry said it plans to staff the proposed immigration agency with officials already working in immigration-related government departments.

Responsibility for implementing policies tied to immigration is currently divided across different ministries.

While the Labor Ministry handles migrant and guest workers, the Gender Equality Ministry ensures the welfare of immigrant spouses and their children. The Foreign Ministry’s Overseas Korean Agency, launched in June, is responsible for policies regarding people of Korean descent who reside abroad, while visas are issued and managed by the Justice Ministry’s immigration service.

Establishing an agency to manage immigration was a campaign promise of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who previously said that negative perceptions of immigration should change but also suggested that the country’s immigrants had not made sufficient efforts to adapt and integrate into Korean society.

Han first mentioned establishing an immigration agency in a speech he made shortly after his appointment in May last year.

He also called on the country to overhaul its immigration policies “to benefit the country’s interests” during a speech at the Jeju Forum hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in June.

At the forum, the justice minister said that mastery of the Korean language is “crucial” for immigrants to successfully integrate into Korean society, adding that foreigners who speak Korean well “will be given preferential treatment” under updated immigration policies.

Han’s latest push for immigration reforms is what political observers believe is a series of hints that he could run for a seat in the National Assembly in next year’s general election.

During a visit to a Korean language testing center in Daejeon on Nov. 21, Han told a reporter that he intends to “speak the language of [all] 50 million Koreans, not the dialect of Yeouido” — where the National Assembly is located — in response to a question regarding his heated verbal clashes with the legislature.

While the Justice Ministry’s immigration reforms are still pending in the National Assembly, local governments in Ansan and Gimpo are already lining up to host the new agency.

In a meeting with Han on Nov. 27, Ansan Mayor Lee Min-geun said that his city’s experience crafting policies for foreign residents would be a “big advantage” in establishing an immigration agency.

Located south of Seoul in Gyeonggi, Ansan is home to over 94,000 foreign nationals, who make up 13 percent of the city's 729,000 population.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]