Victimized foreigners may get [S.Korean] state compensation

07-20-2010
By Park Si-soo
Staff reporter
The Korea Times

The government is considering providing state compensation to foreign victims of crimes here, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.

This is the latest in a series of moves by the administration designed to protect immigrant wives following the tragic death of Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, a Vietnamese bride who was murdered on July 7 by her mentally-ill Korean husband, just eight days after her arrival here.

At present, Korean nationals, who are severely injured by penniless criminals, are entitled to compensation of up to 30 million won ($24,800) — the family of people who are killed are also eligible to receive the money

“Regardless of the latest incident, we had discussed the extension of compensation to foreign residents from early this year as the number of foreign crime victims has rapidly increased,” Chung Yoo-mi, an in-house prosecutor of the ministry, told The Korea Times. “Our move is likely to gain momentum with the recent homicide case that has pushed the government to come up with comprehensive measures to prevent a recurrence.”

Chung said the idea of adding immigrant wives and documented foreign workers to the beneficiaries is “most likely to be adopted.“

However, the official said it’s undecided when the new rule will go into effect.

According to the ministry, all documented foreigners are entitled to compensation in Japan, while in Germany those who stay there with legal residence status for more than three years benefit from a similar program.

Separately, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also unveiled a package of measures to crack down on unauthorized international matchmaking agencies, that also mandates Koreans looking for a foreign spouse to complete pre-marriage education about the legal system and culture of the countries that their wives come from.

In line with the measures, Koreans looking for a spouse in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Mongolia will have to complete the course starting next month.

“Those who fail to complete the education will see the government’s processing of a visa for their foreign spouse (F-2) suspended,” the ministry said in a release.

The measures were co-designed by eight government bodies, including the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency, it said.

They also intensify the government’s crackdown on undocumented international matchmaking agencies, and propose the establishment of non-profit state-controlled firms as a fundamental solution.

An emergency call center for immigrant wives (1577-1366) and websites will have their available languages become more diversified.

“The Prime Minister’s Office and the ministry will take a leading role in monitoring the measures,” the gender equality ministry said.

For its part, the National Police Agency (NPA) has launched a nationwide crackdown on illegal practices at matchmaking companies such as unlicensed operations and the provision of false information on a partner’s personal profile. The operation will last for one month.