INTERVIEW 'Census intended for welfare of foreigners'

Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) Commissioner Kang Shin-wook speaks at his office in the Government Complex Daejeon in this file photo. / Courtesy of KOSTAT

KOSTAT dismisses concern about crackdown on illegal aliens

By Park Jae-hyuk

Foreign residents, who have lived in Korea for more than three months, are being encouraged to take part in this year's Population and Housing Census for their own sake, regardless of the purpose of their visit and the legality of their stay.

Kang Shin-wook, the commissioner of Statistics Korea (KOSTAT), told The Korea Times in a recent interview that data from the quinquennial nationwide survey will be used to protect human rights, create jobs and establish welfare policies for foreign residents and multiracial families.

“The findings on the survey will be used as raw material for various government policies related to employment, education, transportation, welfare and housing,” he said. “They will also be used as criteria for important decision-making in academic research, business management and marketing.”

For the convenience of those who are not fluent in Korean, the statistics agency produced questionnaires and information materials in 10 additional languages: English, Cambodian, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Mongolian, Nepalese, Russian, Thai and Vietnamese.

KOSTAT is also offering special questionnaires for non-Koreans living in dormitories.

The commissioner was aware that some foreign residents remain reluctant to take part in the survey due to concerns over possible repercussions for illegal aliens or those who are unregistered.

He emphasized that there will not be any disadvantage to the respondents saying, “Any personal information collected of those surveyed is strictly protected by law,” he said. “Census collectors are not allowed to ask whether foreign respondents have residence permits.”

From Nov. 1 to 18, census will make door-to-door visits to survey the households that did not respond to the internet-based survey which was conducted from Oct. 15.

The commissioner said his agency is well prepared to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the door-to-door visits.

“Before our visits, we are asking households to participate in the survey via the internet or telephone calls,” he said. “A COVID-19 checklist is installed on each census collector's tablet PC. We will strictly follow preventive measures for a safer survey, so those taking the survey do not need to worry.”

The Population and Housing Census is the largest and the most important national statistical survey, according to KOSTAT.

Since 2015, the agency has conducted the survey using solely administrative data, such as resident and building registers.

Direct surveys have only been implemented for a 20 percent population sample in order to obtain detailed data on economic activities, commuting and other matters.