By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

A lawmaker proposed bills to strengthen the screening of foreign English teachers in Korea, Tuesday.

Rep. Choi Young-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party submitted the bills obliging foreign English teachers to present criminal record and health check documents, including HIV-AIDS tests, before they are hired at public or private schools.

Under immigration regulations, applicants for an E-2 English teaching visa have been required to submit those documents since December 2007.

``E-2 visa holders, once caught for taking drugs or sexually harassing children, were often found to be rehired at another school or hagwon,'' said Yeo Jun-sung, an aide for Rep. Choi. ``The proposed bills are to remove these loopholes from the current immigration law.''

If the bills are passed at the National Assembly, they will go into effect from next year.

In addition, the bills require ``cannabinoid tests'' to detect marijuana users. The authorities initially planned to conduct the tests on E-2 visa applicants, but the idea was scrapped in March last year due to a lack of equipped hospitals and the fact smoking marijuana is not illegal in some countries.

Rep. Choi said Korea had a total of 38,822 E-2 visa holders last year. Among them, 11,067 were registered with hagwon, and 5,553 at elementary and secondary schools, but 22,202 were not accounted for.

Meanwhile, foreign teachers' groups are urging the Korean government to test all teachers, whether they are Koreans or foreigners. They filed complaints with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, claiming the visa regulations were based on prejudice and bias against foreign English teachers last February. Also, Gong-Gam, a group of human rights lawyers, plans to file a petition with the Constitutional Court on their behalf.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr