The era of 3 million foreigners residing in Korea is just around the corner. Three out of four foreigners are long-term residents who have completed foreigner registration and residence reporting. Korea has already reached a point where foreigners account for 5.7% of the total population, officially entering a multicultural and multi-ethnic society.
It cannot be denied that foreigners are one pillar supporting our society. However, both systems and perceptions remain trapped in a paradigm that treats foreigners merely as "labor" or "tourists." There is an urgent focus solely on bringing in foreign workers to fill labor shortages in unskilled job sites and international students to alleviate financial difficulties faced by universities due to declining school-age populations. A macro-level blueprint to improve the living conditions of foreigners and integrate them as dignified members of society is hard to find.
Foreigner administration is fragmented. The Ministry of Justice handles visas, the Ministry of Employment and Labor manages labor, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family oversees multicultural families, and the Ministry of Education separately manages international students. Silos between ministries lead to overlapping projects and wasted budgets. Meanwhile, on-the-ground issues such as human rights protection or management of illegal residents are often inadequately addressed. To resolve this chaos, the previous government pushed for plans to establish the Immigration Administration and the Population Strategy Planning Department, but these were all derailed due to political conflicts and power struggles between ministries. Even in the early days of the current administration, a bill was introduced to create an Immigration Office under the Office of the Prime Minister to oversee immigration policy, but it was not reflected in government organizational restructuring. The reason the political sphere has not actively stepped forward is likely due to public perception that immigration policy equates to accepting large numbers of immigrants.
If foreigner administration proceeds without clear principles and only responds to immediate needs, it may only fuel job competition, community conflicts, and insecurity. This can lead to anti-immigration sentiment. To prevent chaos, the scale of foreigner inflow and residence order must be systematically and strictly designed, while simultaneously promoting social integration policies that allow immigrants to coexist with existing residents.
Foreigner policy is an area of national strategy where labor, education, welfare, public safety, community affairs, and population policy are all intertwined. Establishing an institutional investor to oversee foreigner and immigration policy is not merely a matter of adding one more ministry. It is an urgent national task to create a society where immigrants and existing residents can coexist safely. Unprepared inflow of foreigners leads to conflict and division, but integration based on principles and order can become a growth engine that enables our society to prosper.
in OPINION
