Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Who's Your Daddy?]

High court rules gov�t can deny citizenship

August 04, 2010
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Justice Ministry holds authority over denying citizenship to foreigners even if they meet necessary legal requirements, court officials said yesterday.

An ethnic Korean man living in China, identified only by his surname Kim, entered South Korea on a 60-day F-1 visitor's visa in 2003 but could not leave the country after suffering a stroke.

He has remained here ever since and sought to become a naturalized Korean citizen in 2008. According to Korean laws, a foreigner residing in the country for at least three years can apply for Korean citizenship.

The Ministry of Justice, however, refused to accept his request, and Kim brought a lawsuit before the court.

"The Nationality Act does not mean that the ministry must grant citizenship to a foreigner who meets the requirements, and it cannot be concluded that the foreigner obtained the right to be granted Korean nationality," the court said in a verdict.

A lower court had ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering that the Justice Ministry approve Kim's request.


Yonhap.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2924137

[Captain Corea]

[ttompatz]

No surprise there.

Speaking from first hand, personal experience you can rest assured that unless you are married to a Korean, or you are a famous soccer coach who led the Korean team in the 2002 world cup or won the MVP in a Superbowl game the chances of success in an application for permanent residence or naturalization are very nearly "0".

Your basic grubby ESL teacher has about the same chance as a snowball in Hades.

.

[BoholDiver]

I don't advocate favortism or anything like that, but people need to realize that immigration is a privilege, not a right.

[WadRUG'naDoo]

Damn! There goes my plan.

[sojusucks]

But what do Koreans DEMAND from other countries?

[PatrickGHBusan]

[T-J]

[brier]

[BoholDiver]

I have heard Koreans screaming racism for rejecting visas for them. But I'd say that's a minority opinion.

The cheeky part is Koreans wanting to emigrate or hold another country's passport but at the same time rejecting the idea for Korea to open their doors to immigration. A slightly more popular opinion.

[cdninkorea]

[misher]

I'm completely torn on the issue. On one hand, if Korea doesn't want to let anyone have equal rights that is not "pure blood" I say that is their choice. Their country, their rules and as a guest in their country I am going to respect those rules. I didn't have to come here. On the other hand South Korea is reaping the benefits of a global economy and for them to deny people just because they look different or have another language as a mother tongue grates me a bit because I know many Koreans in Vancouver that have complained about Canada's racist immigration system many times as it is their "right" to immigrate to Canada.

[PatrickGHBusan]

It is not your right to immigrate anywhere.

It is an OPTION that will come with REQUIREMENTS.

An open immigration policy is no longer possible today due to many factors, namely health issues and economic issues.

Canada is a good example of this selection process as it is pretty selective. The economic argument prevails for canadian immigration except for the few refugees that are allowed into the country.

Canadian immigration focuses on skilled labor or business investors. That is a national policy choice and not an individual rights issue. When you eliminate cases where immigrants are sponsored by a canadian citizen, you see that Canada wants to welcome people who will not be a fiscal burden. Again, a political and economical choice.

There are rules and restrictions that guide how and if someone can become a resident and then a citizen.

Korea has almost no immigration history and is in the category of countries that has a near homogenous population (ethnically speaking). Immigration will be forced upon Korea (and other such countries like Japan) due to the hard facts of demographics.

[laguna]

[ttompatz]