By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

The government rebuffed recommendations by a UN committee, Wednesday, regarding its treatment of immigrant workers.

The Ministry of Justice said that the suggestions contained factual errors and were based on a lack of understanding of Korean law.

The statement came after the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) issued a report on Korea.

The 18-member panel, which is under the wing of the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, reviewed the situation in Korea from Nov. 10 to 11, regarding how faithfully Korea complies with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Han Jeong-jin, the ministry's spokesman, said that some commissioners on the CESCR got facts wrong even after receiving clarification. "They did not accept the corrections," Han said.

He gave the example of an observation made in the report that under Korean law, "foreign spouses married to Korean nationals are still dependent on the latter for their residency status."

According to the spokesman, such a regulation no longer exists.

The ministry also said it was inappropriate for the committee to refer to specific cases still pending at domestic courts ― such as labor union cases involving migrant workers.

The Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea (JCMK), a solidarity group of activists and immigrant workers, urged the government to adhere to the UN recommendations. Established in 1995, the group consists of 56 civic organizations fighting for human rights of migrant workers here.

During an outdoor press conference in downtown Seoul, Lee Young, executive secretary of the JCMK, said, "Migrant workers cannot transfer from one workplace to another without permission from their employers and they work for more than 12 hours a day for low wages."

Lee added that the government should follow the UN advice on human rights.

Korea has imported manpower to complement shortages of workers in the so-called 3-D ― dirty, dangerous and difficult ― jobs.

Activists for foreign workers say that the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration is adopting a tougher policy toward them, citing a crackdown now under way and the launch of a special anti-crime unit.

Meanwhile, the CESCR stated the Korean Constitution has a narrow scope of rights that are only applied to Korean citizens, and recommended that the country ask its courts and administrative authorities to pay more attention to the UN covenant.

The committee urged Seoul to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. A bill on this was submitted to the National Assembly in December 2007, but later discarded.

It also expressed its concern that migrant workers here are subject to exploitation, discrimination and unpaid wages.

The UN body advised Korea to revise its Employment Permit System to protect immigrant workers' rights better, especially in the current economic situation in which migrants have little choice but to accept jobs with unfavorable work conditions.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr