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| A screen capture from the Cheong Wa Dae petition site about Yulbashev Aliakbar, an illegal migrant worker who saved the lives of 10 people in a recent fire. |
By Kim Se-jeong
Three petitions have been filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, asking the government to give a 27-year-old illegal migrant worker from Kazakhstan, who saved 10 people in a recent fire in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, the permanent right to stay and work in Korea.
"What he did makes him a hero. I hope the government will reward him by giving him the permanent right to stay and work in Korea and helping him get a job. He set an example by doing the right thing despite his illegal status, and that gave an example," one petitioner wrote. As of Wednesday, the petitions have had more than 16,000 endorsements.
The fire started in Yulbashev Aliakbar's residential building in the evening of May 23 as he was returning home. Instead of running away, he stayed and helped 10 neighbors escape from the blaze. One person died in the fire.
He suffered neck and hand burns and had to report his illegal status to the immigration office to receive treatment. The immigration office told him to leave the country by May 1.
Aliakbar said he was happy to hear that there was a possibility that he would be able to stay and work in Korea permanently. "I am happy to hear the news," he told the Korea Times in Korean. "I hope to stay here longer."
He entered Korea in December 2017. He stayed over his 90-day tourist visa and worked as a laborer in Yangyang. He has a wife and a son back in Kazakhstan.
Recalling the fire, he said he was compelled to do something quickly to save people.
Yangyang County Office said it is in the process of getting him official recognition, which will be conferred by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Then, he will have to apply for permanent residency. However, it said he would have to leave on May 1, the deportation deadline, but added, "He will be able to come back because he voluntarily reported his illegal status.
Aliakbar's story has a precedent.
In 2017, an undocumented worker from Sri Lanka saved a woman from a fire in Gunwi, North Gyeongsang Province, and was rewarded with permanent residency status.
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