Dear editor,

Regarding an Oct. 24 editorial, ``Stop Crackdown,'' I totally agree with the author's opinion.

As the article said, the ``employment permit system'' seemed to mark a sharp improvement from the previous ``industrial trainee system,'' which human rights groups and other civil organizations, including the National Council of Churches in Korea (KNCC), have been highly concerned about, and have pointed out some problems.

However, limiting the work period and allowing the immigrant workers to change workplaces only with the permission of their employers has been forcing them to choose one of only two possibilities: being illegal aliens, or accepting maltreatment such as a poor work safety environment, overdue payments, verbal or physical abuse, and even sexual harassment.

President Lee Myung-bak, who has put an emphasis on ``new Asia initiatives'' to promote further cooperation between Korea and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said, ``The Korean government will spare no efforts in rendering support for the hard-working immigrant workers in Korean industries.''

As the author mentioned in the article, if Lee's endeavor is to bear fruit, the Asian workers, illegal or not, should be able to work in an environment with human rights, and the government should start with revising the systems and laws.

Immigrant workers are not disposable ones for the Korean workers who detest ``3D'' (difficult, dirty and dangerous) jobs and they must have the freedom to decide on how long they are going to work in Korea and to change their jobs without the permission of their incumbent employers.

At the same time, illegal workers should be able to earn legal status if they contribute to Korean society through working, paying taxes and learning Korean in order to work in close cooperation with the local workers.

Hwang Hye-kyung
Teacher in Seoul
hae402@hanmail.net