Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cablooshki]

I have recently discovered that South Korea no longer shares criminal information with Canada, and since they have also withdrawn from Interpol, I assume they no longer share information with many other countries. This may sound insignificant, until you realize that many jobs in other countries depend on a criminal background.
Getting a job in the public service of Canada (or a companies which need reliability such as museums, research companies, companies with contracts from the government, etc.) is virtually impossible without a criminal background check from Korea. I have been turned down twice due to these circumstances, and I am hoping that my third time is a charm. But there are no guarantees.
I have gotten a background check from the Korean National Police, but I have been told that this is not a replacement.
I would urge everyone who reads this to spread the word, to write in to English speaking newspapers, and to raise a bit of a fuss. Here's why:

1 - Without the Korean government sharing criminal information with other countries, who knows how many offenders (Like child molesters) could get out of the country and have no one be the wiser. They would leave the country with a clean slate. Is that fair to any child?
In fact, why are people given jobs in Korea without having background checks done? I thought this was being done when I applied for my visa, but apparently I was mistaken. Anyone, even a major threat to children, does not have to worry about being rejected as a teacher from Korea, as Korea does not trade criminal information with Canada and I assume many other countries.

2 - It's hard to ignore the fact that there are terrorists out there. I don't like to be an alarmist, but there are cases in countries that have nothing to do with the war, and still suffer from these attacks. For example: Germany. In the end, the attack did not go through, but they were aiming for anyone, regardless of citizenship. It is through co-operation that countries are able to discover dangerous intentions, and stop them. Korea has been part of Iraq and Afghanistan. Coupled with the large number of American soldiers in the country, how can the country afford not to trade criminal information?

3 - This policy does not only effect English teachers, but immigrating Koreans, business people, and anyone who lives in the country. All of these people will be left out of the important discussions because they decided to experience the Korean way of life.

Once again, I encourage as many people as possible to talk about this subject, and make it an issue. It's not fair for the people living in Korea and the people who have lived in Korea. But beyond that, it's not safe.