By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
New visa regulations came into effect Saturday, which require foreigners to submit criminal record checks and health certificates when applying for a visa to get a job as a language instructor here.
But the tightened regulations have faced a harsh response from incumbent language teachers as well as applicants for the E-2 teaching visa.
Most teachers denounce the move, saying that it will only make the visa issuance procedure more complicated and create delays without meeting the government's aim ― the screening of unqualified foreign language teachers.
``Screening and health checks will deter some, but the rest of us honest teachers don't wish to be left hanging around for months waiting for things to be finalized,'' said Kurt from South Africa, who works at a language school in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. ``I'd rather go to China.''
Currently, there are over 170,000 foreign language instructors from overseas with the E-2 visa _ 6,700 from the Unites States and 5,000 from Canada.
Before the changes, foreign language teachers could renew their visas by visiting a neighboring country and then return without additional documentation. Now, they may have to wait a long time to obtain a criminal background check and make a long trip back to their home countries to prepare the needed documents.
The new move was initiated by concerns over unqualified foreign language teachers.
Last October, Interpol arrested a Canadian English instructor in Thailand on charges of molesting juveniles. It was found that he had worked at an international school in Gwangju here until Oct. 11 before he was arrested. In July, two Australian and Canadian English instructors were punished on drug charges.
But most foreigners are skeptical about the effectiveness of the new regulations.
``What people don't realize is that this is a knee-jerk reaction based on a pedophile, who was teaching in Korea but arrested in Thailand, who didn't even have a criminal record,'' English teacher Keith from Seoul said. ``Sure there are some bad people out there. But why put us all into one category?''
As part of efforts to ease the discontent, the Ministry of Justice has granted a three-month grace period for current E-2 visa holders to give them more time to prepare the necessary documents.
The ministry also held a hearing Monday to explain details of the policy to foreign embassies in Seoul.
The meeting was attended by 10 officials from the embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and South Africa. For smooth implementation, the ministry asked for their cooperation.
But regarding the move, most embassies basically showed a lukewarm stance as they cannot directly provide the required documents for their citizens due to administrative problems such as lack of manpower and protection of privacy.
``Basically, it's up to the Korean government. Each individual should abide by the new law,'' an official from the Australian Embassy said. ``All we can do now is to introduce our people to the changes and help them prepare for them.''