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| More than 300,000 people have signed a public petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, as of Friday, calling on the government to withdraw its plan to ease Korean nationality acquisition requirements for underage foreign nationals. Screen captured from Cheong Wa Dae website |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The government’s plan to ease rules on the acquisition of Korean citizenship for underage foreign nationals has drawn public backlash due to mounting anti-China sentiment here, as people opposing the policy believe it will mainly benefit Chinese residents.
The Ministry of Justice announced its plan to revise the Nationality Act, April 26, which will make it easier for children of permanent residents to gain citizenship.
Under the revised scheme, if a permanent resident with “close ties” with Korea gives birth to a child here, the child may attain citizenship by simply filing an application to the ministry.
Currently, they should wait until the age of 18 to file an application unless their parents have been naturalized, and then undergo a written test and interview.
The legislation is aimed at helping such children build a Korean identity and better adapt to life here, while securing human resources to tackle the country’s low birthrate and aging population, according to the ministry.
But it noted that the policy will not be applied to all permanent residents, as it prioritizes families that have lived here for several generations or those with historic or ethnic ties to Korea.
Once the system is revised, children aged six or under can immediately apply for citizenship. Those aged over six are required to have lived in Korea for more than five years.
But the decision, which came amid growing anti-China sentiment in the country, was immediately met by a public outcry as it is expected to benefit Chinese residents who account for a majority of permanent residents here.
While around 3,930 individuals are currently eligible to apply for citizenship, according to the justice ministry, 95 percent of them are Chinese nationals.
A public petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, April 28, calling on the government to nullify the plan, has garnered over 300,000 signatures as of Friday.
“The government shouldn’t easily grant citizenships to permanent residents, most of whom are Chinese,” the petition read, insisting that Korea should preserve its identity through the principle of racial homogeneity.
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| Experts participate in an online public hearing on the justice ministry’s planned revision to the Nationality Act, May 26. Screen captured from YouTube |
Following mounting criticism, the justice ministry held an online public hearing streamed through its YouTube channel to gather various opinions on the policy, May 26.
The hearing, however, failed to ease public backlash. The comment section was flooded with calls to withdraw the policy, while many others criticized the authorities for only inviting panelists who were in favor of the plan.
On Friday, the ministry held a media briefing and gave additional explanations on the revised bill.
The ministry said the bill is intended to make Korea become a more inclusive society amid a growing number of people from multicultural backgrounds, but admitted that the beneficiaries of the policy are currently concentrated on a certain nationality.
“Although it is concentrated on people of a certain nationality due to historical and geographical factors, we believe it will be eased gradually in the future,” ministry official Song So-young said.
The ministry will continue to gather public opinion until June 7, after which the final version of the revised bill will be sent to the National Assembly.
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