Migrant human rights groups call for non-discriminatory COVID-19 relief aid

 

In this July 6 file photo, a coalition of around 100 migrant human rights groups calls upon the South Korean government to provide COVID-19 relief fund to residents of foreign nationality during a news conference held in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. Yonhap

Local migrant human rights groups on Tuesday called upon the government to come up with a non-discriminatory COVID-19 relief aid program, ahead of the envisioned mass rollout of cash handouts next month.

Around 100 groups for the human rights of migrants and foreign national residents, including Solidarity for Migrant Human Rights, issued a joint statement demanding the government to cover the migrant and foreign national resident population in its plan to start distributing stimulus checks of 250,000 won ($215) per person to the bottom 88 percent of South Koreans in terms of income bracket on Sept. 6.

"Many of the foreign nationals who live, work and may taxes here have again been excluded from the list of people eligible for claiming the state-funded pandemic relief checks," they said, asking the government to add the population of residents of foreign nationality to the latest list.

Under the current plan, they claimed that among 2 million foreign residents here, cash handouts are available to only about 300,000 who have permanent residence (F-5) or marriage migrant (F-6) visas, as well as the same national health insurance coverage as Koreans.

According to the keonhacai , residents of foreign nationality have been repeatedly discriminated against in South Korea's pandemic relief policies, such as in the public supply of face masks and the provision of emergency relief funds, ever since the coronavirus pandemic broke out early last year. The country has so far provided four rounds of pandemic relief aid to Korean citizens.

Migrants should be considered as part of the Korean community as they pay taxes here and have been fulfilling their responsibility in the fight against the virus, they added.

"Foreign national residents have suffered the (economic) fallout of the pandemic (just like Korean national residents). There is no reason to exclude them from relief fund programs created to lessen people's financial burden and revitalize the economy." (Yonhap)