[KS] Law on Ethnic Koreans in China Eased

[Carl Webb]

http://www.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/199910/199910120610.html

Law on Ethnic Koreans in China Eased 

                  First generation ethnic Koreans in China who can prove they moved there
                  before the establishment of the Republic of Korea will soon have the right to
                  Korean citizenship. This is one of the many new changes in what is being
                  called the "First Supplementary Measure" of the "Law for Overseas
                  Koreans." The "First Supplementary Measure" also eases visa application
                  requirements for Koreans who are citizens of the People's Republic of
                  China. The highly prized "F-1" visa will become available to those who have
                  an official sponsor, allowing for an automatic one year sojourn with the right
                  to partial employment. Those who prove their first generation status may
                  come to Korea without the invitation of a sponsor. The new law was first
                  widely opposed on the grounds that it gave different legal advantages to
                  ethnic Koreans according to country of citizenship. In addition the law was
                  potentially unconstitutional for several reasons, including failing to grant
                  automatic citizenship to Koreans displaced by Japanese imperialism, war, or
                  national division. According to the constitution, North Korea is communist
                  occupied territory of the Republic of Korea and as such, North Koreans are
                  citizens of the Republic of Korea. Others are implied to have the same rights
                  in certain cases. Whether the revision, set to be implemented gradually, will
                  be spared constitutional debate remains to be seen, since the new version of
                  the law still limits naturalization of first generation ethnic Koreans in China
                  only. (Lee Hang-su, hangsu at chosun.com) 


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