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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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 Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:34 am Post subject: Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive???? |
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So the Korea Times has an exclusive, or is that elusive, article about tracking down and "busting" illegal foreign English teachers who work in Kindergartens.
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Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
DAEJEON ㅡ Hur Chang-goo, a veteran immigration police officer, hopped in a car with his partner, a female interpreter. Their mission: To catch a foreign national illegally teaching English at a kindergarten.
Tipped off that a Canadian teacher was hired to teach at the private institute, they needed to check it out. On their way, they discussed ways to block any possible attempt by the teacher to flee. The Korea Times accompanied them.
It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes.
Upon arrival, the officer silently walked into the kindergarten's porch, the noise of kids filtering down from upstairs.
``We are from Daejeon Immigration Office. Please call the foreign teacher,'' Hur declared. Caught off guard by the uninvited, abrupt ``guests,'' the chief rushed to the building's upper floor and soon came down with a Canadian instructor.
The officer asked a couple of questions. What you doing here? Did this institute hire you? Were you teaching kids? The teacher, 28, refused to answer any of the questions.
On behalf of the teacher, the institute's president claimed the person ``happened to be at the institute by chance to eat snacks not to teach kids,'' adding that he works at a nearby language institute.
The two presidents were ordered to appear at the immigration office the following week for additional questions.
The police officer did not go into the classroom where the person might have possibly been teaching kids, taking into consideration the possible negative impact it might have had on the children.
He called the two school presidents in several days later for further questioning. They strongly denied that the teacher was teaching kids at the kindergarten.
The officer failed to secure any concrete evidence that immigration law had been violated.
``Nobody admits their wrongdoing from the beginning,'' Hur said returning to his office. ``The two presidents' statements were a bit conflicting and did not fit well. But, as the kindergarten president did not admit hiring the foreign teacher, we couldn't prove anything.''
The officer said that the case illustrates how hard it is to nab illegal foreign workers, with the difficulty compounded by a lack of manpower at the immigration office.
``We have lots of work to do, causing most immigration police officers to work late at the office almost everyday. This case apparently imposed another burden on us,'' he said with a bitter smile.
Chronic Hurdle
His office covers not only Daejeon, where the headquarters are located, but also South Chungcheong Province.
The office estimates there are more than 58,000 foreign nationals, including roughly 12,000 illegal foreign workers, in the area. The number has jumped in recent years.
Even if they wanted to catch all the illegal foreign workers, there are only nine investigators at the office.
``It is basically impossible to put the whole area under our control with the current manpower,'' said Son Jong-ha, chief officer of Daejeon Immigration Office. ``We sometimes fail to react immediately to tip-offs on illegal foreign workers.''
He said an increase of manpower was the only way to get back on track.
``We need at least 40 to 50 more investigators,'' Son said. ``Any administrative reform without additional staff would be meaningless.''
The immigration office focuses on catching those working illegally at private language institutes, and kindergartens.
There are two foreigner-only prisons in the Daejeon area _ Daejeon Correction Center and Cheonan Correction Center. They hold approximately 60 percent of foreign lawbreakers sentenced to three months or longer in jail.
Son expressed concerns over civic groups that denounce the immigration offices' crackdown on illegal foreign workers.
``Whenever our raids hit the headlines, civic groups attack us. They say illegal foreign laborers are here with the pure purpose of making money and supporting their family members in their home countries,'' he said. ``If any foreigner is injured during the raid, they condemn us. But weeding out illegal foreign workers is important to protect them from being abused by employers.''
Noting that the government's inconsistent policies on illegal foreign labor have created sympathetic feelings towards illegal foreigners, he said ``In the past, foreigners had limited access to work here. Nowadays, however, the government offers diverse opportunities to would-be foreign laborers, ensuring their legal status.''
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Justin Kimberlake
Joined: 20 May 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:16 am Post subject: |
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| It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes. |
huh? |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:36 am Post subject: Re: Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive???? |
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| Whistleblower wrote: |
``We are from Daejeon Immigration Office. Please call the foreign teacher,'' Hur declared. Caught off guard by the uninvited, abrupt ``guests,'' the chief rushed to the building's upper floor and soon came down with a Canadian instructor.
The officer asked a couple of questions. What you doing here? Did this institute hire you? Were you teaching kids? The teacher, 28, refused to answer any of the questions.
On behalf of the teacher, the institute's president claimed the person ``happened to be at the institute by chance to eat snacks not to teach kids,'' adding that he works at a nearby language institute.
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gteacher
Joined: 24 May 2007
Location: Ghost in the machine
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:47 am Post subject: |
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| Justin Kimberlake wrote: |
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| It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes. |
huh? |
If it is registered as a hagwon it is legal to have an E-series teacher. If it is registered as a kindergarten it is illegal. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:58 am Post subject: |
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The police officer did not go into the classroom...
The officer failed to secure any concrete evidence that immigration law had been violated.
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Cause and effect or just coincidence? You be the judge.
It strikes me that even though there are only a few investigators, if they actually arrested, charged and fined the 'presidents' on a regular basis, there wouldn't need to be too many investigators. 'Presidents' would soon learn to obey the law. Consistent enforcement of the law has that affect on many people.
Last edited by Ya-ta Boy on Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:02 am Post subject: |
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| Justin Kimberlake wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes. |
huh? |
Let me clarify, is it illegal for all foreign nationals to teach English at an kindergarten? What those an F type visas? I know there is a guy at my kid's kindergarten who teaches English there, is that likely to be illegal? |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:36 am Post subject: Re: Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive???? |
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| moosehead wrote: |
| Whistleblower wrote: |
``We are from Daejeon Immigration Office. Please call the foreign teacher,'' Hur declared. Caught off guard by the uninvited, abrupt ``guests,'' the chief rushed to the building's upper floor and soon came down with a Canadian instructor.
The officer asked a couple of questions. What you doing here? Did this institute hire you? Were you teaching kids? The teacher, 28, refused to answer any of the questions.
On behalf of the teacher, the institute's president claimed the person ``happened to be at the institute by chance to eat snacks not to teach kids,'' adding that he works at a nearby language institute.
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Who are these investigators? They actually believed that crap? Who do they work for, LAPD?
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The police officer did not go into the classroom where the person might have possibly been teaching kids, taking into consideration the possible negative impact it might have had on the children. The officer failed to secure any concrete evidence that immigration law had been violated. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:43 am Post subject: |
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| Please stop posting articles and stories about how this country is screwed up. After six years, I'm completely full. Really, no more please. Thank you. |
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big_fella1
Joined: 08 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:50 am Post subject: |
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My understanding is that yes it is illegal for F2, F4,&F5 holders to teach English at kindergartens, however they can work at kindergartens (go figure).
Many F2,F4,&F5's believe they have a blank cheque as far as working, this is not the case in law, although it is the case in reality.
Working for 30k (or less) an hour in a kindergarten on an F visa is surely not appealing anyway when they can get 70k for teaching privates. |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:16 am Post subject: |
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| big_fella1 wrote: |
| Working for 30k (or less) an hour in a kindergarten on an F visa is surely not appealing anyway when they can get 70k for teaching privates. |
Well you don't want to know how much how much I earn at the moment per hour. I don't get out of my bed for less than 100k per hour. |
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gteacher
Joined: 24 May 2007
Location: Ghost in the machine
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Whistleblower wrote: |
| Justin Kimberlake wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes. |
huh? |
Let me clarify, is it illegal for all foreign nationals to teach English at an kindergarten? What those an F type visas? I know there is a guy at my kid's kindergarten who teaches English there, is that likely to be illegal? |
F-Series can teach anywhere they want. Immi has no say in their employment. |
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Lekker
Joined: 09 Feb 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:02 pm Post subject: Re: Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive???? |
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| moosehead wrote: |
| Whistleblower wrote: |
``We are from Daejeon Immigration Office. Please call the foreign teacher,'' Hur declared. Caught off guard by the uninvited, abrupt ``guests,'' the chief rushed to the building's upper floor and soon came down with a Canadian instructor.
The officer asked a couple of questions. What you doing here? Did this institute hire you? Were you teaching kids? The teacher, 28, refused to answer any of the questions.
On behalf of the teacher, the institute's president claimed the person ``happened to be at the institute by chance to eat snacks not to teach kids,'' adding that he works at a nearby language institute.
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Because every 28 year old Canadian in Korea has nothing better to do in the morning than to go into a room full of screaming kindergardeners and eat kimbap and cookies that have been touched by little kindergardeners with booger fingers. |
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Beej
Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject: Re: Busting Illegal Foreign Workers Elusive???? |
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| Lekker wrote: |
| moosehead wrote: |
| Whistleblower wrote: |
``We are from Daejeon Immigration Office. Please call the foreign teacher,'' Hur declared. Caught off guard by the uninvited, abrupt ``guests,'' the chief rushed to the building's upper floor and soon came down with a Canadian instructor.
The officer asked a couple of questions. What you doing here? Did this institute hire you? Were you teaching kids? The teacher, 28, refused to answer any of the questions.
On behalf of the teacher, the institute's president claimed the person ``happened to be at the institute by chance to eat snacks not to teach kids,'' adding that he works at a nearby language institute.
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Because every 28 year old Canadian in Korea has nothing better to do in the morning than to go into a room full of screaming kindergardeners and eat kimbap and cookies that have been touched by little kindergardeners with booger fingers. |
That pretty much sums it up. You ever see a Canadian refuse free food? me neither. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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No doubt the Immigration Officers performed their investigation within the confines of the law and constitution because there were reporters coming along to observe them. Now, I do wonder how the report would've appeared in the paper had those same officers accosted someone on the street just because the person "looks foreign" and demanded the person present their passport or ARC.
Last edited by CentralCali on Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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big_fella1
Joined: 08 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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| gteacher wrote: |
| Whistleblower wrote: |
| Justin Kimberlake wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's illegal for any foreign national, even those with an E-2 visa, to work at an institute registered as kindergarten. Under Korean law, kindergartens are banned from providing English classes. |
huh? |
Let me clarify, is it illegal for all foreign nationals to teach English at an kindergarten? What those an F type visas? I know there is a guy at my kid's kindergarten who teaches English there, is that likely to be illegal? |
F-Series can teach anywhere they want. Immi has no say in their employment. |
You are correct as to immigration having no say in their employment but the Ministry of Education does. There are guidelines as to where English can be taught and kindergartens don't make the cut. The same as an F series wanting to teach English in their home needs a tutors licence and cannot teach in the students home.
Marrying a Korean or being of Korean descent does not exempt you from Korean law.
As for whistleblower not getting out of bed for less than 100k an hour congratulations. Obviously you treat teaching as a business and do the preparation to maximise the amount you can charge. If only more people did this there would be no more agencies. Well done. |
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