I don't understand where Rep. Choi Young-hee is coming from here. Surely he knows that foreign teachers are already obliged "to present criminal record and health check documents, including HIV-AIDS " and have been since December 2007. Or is this part of the effort to make it law, rather than just a 'policy memo'?A lawmaker proposed bills to strengthen the screening of foreign English teachers in Korea, Tuesday.
Rep. Choi Young-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party submitted the bills obliging foreign English teachers to present criminal record and health check documents, including HIV-AIDS tests, before they are hired at public or private schools.
In addition, we are not allowed to present health checks, including HIV/AIDS test, when we are hired as we must have them at a designated hospital, once we've already entered Korea.
And as for this gem:
``E-2 visa holders, once caught for taking drugs or sexually harassing children, were often found to be rehired at another school or hagwon,'' said Yeo Jun-sung, an aide for Rep. Choi....evidence please. Oh wait, there is none. I hate it when dickheads in charge make this type of, dare I say it, unqualified statement. Besides, if they've been 'caught', what the hell are they doing being hired elsewhere?
And finally:
Meanwhile, foreign teachers' groups are urging the Korean government to test all teachers, whether they are Koreans or foreigners.I would have thought that the author, Kang Shin-who, would know better than to print something like this, given that he's only just been called out on such inaccurate and inflammatory statements. Clearly this 'reporter' can't find his arse with 2 hands and a map. Or as my Dad would say "Dumb as a bag of rocks."
This is probably a pretty accurate summary of this journalistic masterpiece.
I think that the bill was not passed in 2007 but immigration put them into policy anyway to calm the fears of the parents. This guy probably wants to make a name for himself. I wonder if he will be in any elections soon.
ReplyDeletePossibly this is in regards to the court case that is supposed to be this week. The guy wants to stir up support to make the case more political.
As I understand it, this wasn't passed into law in 2007 because the BBK scandal distracted everyone. I'm guessing that, as a 'policy memo', it carries much less weight than a proper law.
ReplyDeleteI think, with the recent challenge to the E2 requirements, it'll be much easier for the gov't to fall back on "Hey, it's the law." than put up a reasoned argument as to why E2s must jump through these ridiculous hoops.
This is a meaty issue to tag your name to right now if you're a politician.
Even it is a policy memo, it is being carried out as law. But what is the ramifications of not following policy? Since it is only policy, is it mandatory to follow it or not? That, I think, is another issue. Is it then necessary to make a bill or just have immigration change its policy?
ReplyDeleteIf it is not law, then do we have to follow it?
I agree about the meaty issue. I wonder if there is an election coming up. This is a quick and fast way to get your name known.
I wonder at how many other "policies" there are but are being treated as "law" This is what I mean by defining "unqualified"
Does "policy" have the same restrictions as "law"? If not, then all those background checks and medical tests weren't needed. Just because one government institution makes a "policy", is it then treated as a law? And what right does immigration have to make their policies? To make the parents feel safer?
I question how immigration can make their own policy without the central government making a decision.
That’s an interesting question about the ramifications of not following the policy. I think many foreigners don’t know that this isn’t law so, while they don’t like it, they usually justify it with “Well, we’re guests in Korea and it’s their way.”
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience, I would guess that Koreans either also don’t know it’s not law or will not question/defy it since it comes from a higher up. And that bothers me because the Koreans I’ve spoken to about this particular policy seem to understand it’s discriminatory but feel powerless to do anything about it.
What worries me is the way this appears to be creeping from an immigration 'policy memo' into other policies, such as an education office refusing the renew a contract if the teacher refuses the tests, as happened to me. On the ground, it seems almost irrelevant if it’s law or a policy – it’s a policy that’s enforced as a law, not just by immigration, but also by the education office. I really would like to see this change but, as a foreigner on an E2 visa, if I challenge it, I’m kindly shown the door.
My suspicion regarding this chap is that there has been so much noise about E2 discrimination from human rights lawyers, who are in a position to challenge it, that he feels the need to make it a solid law. Let’s face it, “Hey, it’s the law.” sounds much more forceful than “Hey, it’s the policy.”
Like you, I too question how government agencies can make their own policies that are then treated as law. I’m not a lawyer though so I can’t answer that. Logic tells me they can’t… unless you’re in Korea.
"Logic tells me they can’t… unless you’re in Korea."
ReplyDeleteI get a chuckle out of that. But it doesn't matter if it is Korea or not. Logic is universal. Especially when it comes to laws and contracts.If there is any ambiguity in a law or contract, there will be loopholes and we all know that loopholes are not productive things.
I am not a lawyer. I just took a class in logic in grad school and I learned a lot. Especially when it comes to definitions. A term must be defined in order to be used by the the participants. If not then there will be a fallacy which will result in an illogical argument. "unqualified" has not been defined. Thus it cannot be used as a reason. And if it is policy, then there will be loopholes.
If you are interest in reading about logic,"Socratic Logic" by Peter Kreeft. You cannot buy it in Korea. I got mine from amazon. It goes from the basic forms of logic. It is a really good and easy read. After reading you start seeing how arguments are not really valid but people just agree with the conclusions.
Even the policy of not giving international debit cards to foreigners calls reason to check out. Years ago no foreign could get an international debit card because "the government said so". There was no government policy or law about that. The banks used that as an excuse. The banks said it was "policy" that they couldn't give them out. Well, after enough was said through Dave's ESL and some blogs, the banks started to give them out. But only to those who pushed.
I think cell phones are similar.
They abuse the word "policy" and use it for everything. If no one questions it, then everything is "happy joy joy".
This is the first time that foreigners are challenging anything on this scale. There might be another time but I don't recall it(and I've been here for over 15 years). It seems that lawmakers who want to make a name for themselves go after English teachers since there is no backlash. Has any lawmaker proposed a bill for Korea teachers to get a background check? Would the Korean teachers and the teaching unions stand up for that?
Sorry, I have to write two posts(dear me).
ReplyDeleteMost people are looking at the human rights issue.
But I want to see if immigration has the authority to make any kind of policy they want without approval from the central government that makes the policy.
If it is policy, then that is more of what should be done and not have to be done like a law.
Is immigration over stepping their boundaries by implementing a policy that was never authorized by the Korean government?
Or can any part of the government make a policy on their own? This is the part that I am curious about. I am not sure about government systems but I think that immigration is part of the law enforcement branch and they are to carry out the laws, not make them.
I might be wrong and so I would like to know where I made a mistake so I don't do it again in the future.
I don't see how a bill like this could pass the rigours of any law making process (but again, I'm not a lawyer). I don't see how anyone could put up a solid argument with evidence to push it through into law.
ReplyDeleteBut as you pointed out, the arguments may not be valid but people just agree with conclusions. In this case, I think the media has done such a good job demonising English teachers that the foregone conclusion is that we're all drug-taking, child-molesting, ex-cons who spread HIV in our spare time due to our disordered sex lives and, thus, a law is necessary to control us (kind of putting the cart before the horse, if you will).
It makes sense in my head anyway...
We don't know why the bill wasn't passed. I would like to know why.
ReplyDeleteBut it seems that rational people try to understand what the deal is as well as the details. But Koreans don't try to understand what the deal is and the details.
Take a look at the beef issue. From one stupid and ethically wrong report, the masses believed the report and thought they were going to die from mad cow disease. Did they bother to find out more information? Nope. They just accepted it. And American beef came and sold like hotcakes. There have been no reports of death from American beef. Yet some people still believe.
It seems that whatever they hear, must be true. Even if it is illogical or false, if it comes from a popular source then it must be true.
I think that the people have gone along with policy and learned to go along with the flow that they stopped being rational in their daily lives. They don't try to figure it out with their own reasoning. They just accept it.
I was amazed at the number of people who protested last year over the beef issue. They all believed that they were going to die from it. They didn't try to figure out the truth.
Never before has foreign teachers spoken out loud in a collective manner. I think that they are tired of being called "drunkards, perverts, child molesters, interested only in money, drug users". And now they are willing to put up a fight.