By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The government will hold nationwide consultations with foriegn residents in order to help them cope with any difficulties they may encounter.
The Ministry of Justice said Thursday it has teamed up with five other ministries ㅡ education, public administration and security, health and welfare, labor and gender equality ㅡ to organize the annual sessions starting Friday in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, and Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. The sessions will be held in 14 cities till Nov. 2.
``No matter what kind of difficulties they face, they will find the right solution with help official help from the concerned ministries,'' said Chung Young-seop, justice ministry official in charge of the program.
The Korean Bar Association, Korea Medical Association, Korea Association of Health Promotion, Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and local hospitals will also participate in the program to provide free legal consultations and medical treatment.
More than 200 officials from the ministries will serve as consultants and 120 language specialists in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and Mongolian will accompany them. Guidebooks containing essential legal, administrative and medical information will be distributed in six different languages ㅡ English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Russian and Mongolian.
During the sessions, the Justice Ministry will offer advise about visas and other immigration matters. Health, education, and public administration ministries will focus their activities on migrants' healthcare, education, and security affairs.
The labor ministry will provide information on methods to deal with violence at the workplace and industrial accidents. The gender equality ministry will offer advice on how to deal with domestic and sexual violence against female foreigners.
How effective the program will be is yet to be seen, some foreign nationals saying such programs end up being one-time events that provide no significant long-term aid to those living here.
``Many immigrant wives and migrant workers remain vulnerable to abuse at home and the workplace. Foreign students who arrive here to pursue a quality education also face various disadvantages on campus,'' a pro-migrant civic group official said.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
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