{"id":4906,"date":"2024-04-16T11:03:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T11:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/?p=4906"},"modified":"2024-04-16T11:03:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T11:03:58","slug":"statement_southkoreacracdown2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/statement_southkoreacracdown2024\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea&#8217;s Crackdown on Undocumented Migrants: A Statement of Condemnation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/migrantforumasia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/jcmk-logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4908 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/migrantforumasia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/jcmk-logo-1024x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"499\" height=\"85\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of South Korea has announced a 77-day joint government crackdown on undocumented migrants, starting from April 15th to June 30th, 2024. This statement condemns this crackdown and calls for a more humane and effective approach to managing migration.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nFailure of Previous Crackdowns<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite the government&#8217;s stated goal of reducing the number of undocumented migrants, the number has actually increased from 410,965 in January 2023 to 423,085 in January 2024. This indicates that the government&#8217;s enforcement-focused approach has failed to achieve its objectives.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nHarm to Vulnerable Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The government&#8217;s crackdown on undocumented migrants has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, including ethnic minorities, low-wage workers, and families. These individuals are often subjected to exploitation, discrimination, and human rights abuses.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nDisregard for Cultural and Religious Events<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The MOJ has even used cultural and religious events as opportunities to conduct raids, such as the crackdown on a Thai restaurant in Pocheon(City) during the Songkran festival. This demonstrates a lack of respect for the cultural and religious practices of migrant communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nHarmful Impacts of Enforcement-Focused Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The government&#8217;s enforcement-focused approach not only fails to reduce the number of undocumented migrants but also leads to a number of negative consequences, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased human rights abuses<\/li>\n<li>Economic hardship for businesses and communities that rely on migrant labor<\/li>\n<li>Strained diplomatic relations with other countries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Call for a More Humane and Effective Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Civil society organizations have long advocated for a more humane and effective approach to migration management, one that is based on regularization rather than enforcement. This includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Providing pathways to legal status for undocumented migrants<\/li>\n<li>Expanding access to employment opportunities for migrants<\/li>\n<li>Promoting integration and social cohesion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The MOJ&#8217;s crackdown on undocumented migrants is misguided and harmful. The government should instead adopt a more humane and effective approach that recognizes the contributions of migrants and promotes their integration into Korean society.<\/p>\n<p>The MOJ should immediately suspend the joint government crackdown on undocumented migrants. The government should conduct a comprehensive review of its migration policies and develop a more humane and effective approach. The government should work with civil society organizations and migrant communities to develop and implement new policies.<br \/>\nWe urge the Korean government to reconsider its approach to undocumented migrants and adopt a more humane and effective strategy that respects human rights, promotes integration, and benefits all of Korean society.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>*In relation to the above, a press conference is planned to condemn the government&#8217;s joint crackdown in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office at 11 a.m. on 18 April\u00a0 2024.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Introduction The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of South Korea has announced a 77-day joint government crackdown on undocumented migrants, starting from April 15th to June 30th, 2024. This statement condemns this crackdown and calls for a more humane and effective approach to managing migration. Failure of Previous Crackdowns Despite the government&#8217;s stated goal of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mfa-statements","category-statements"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfasia.org\/migrantforumasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}