[INTERVIEW] 'Korea needs to put immigration policies into action'

Steve Hamilton, chief of mission to International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Korea, speaks with The Korea Times at his office in central Seoul, Jan. 26. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea's willingness to embrace open immigration policies is reflected in its laws, but now it is time to put that spirit into action, says Steve Hamilton, chief of mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Korea.

"Having come from outside, Korea is currently enjoying global prominence especially with its culture. Many people from various countries want to come here," Hamilton said during an interview with The Korea Times in the IOM Seoul office in Jung District, Jan. 26

Now is the perfect time to look at migrant policies and review various ways on how to attract people to stay, work, and live here, he said.

Hamilton, who joined the IOM in 1999, was appointed as the head of the Seoul office in December last year. Before his move to Korea, the immigration expert with two decades of experience in the field had been dispatched to seven countries including Norway, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Senegal.

"The organization's mission as a whole is the protection and welfare of all migrants and the promotion of evidence-based research on immigration policies," Hamilton said.

"We focus on assisting the Korean government with challenges around migration, based on an understanding of their priorities and challenges. And we cooperate with related governmental bodies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)," he explained.

Korea is facing a massive challenge with its shrinking, aging population. It recorded more deaths than births in 2020 for the first time since the country began to collect relevant data. In this regard, open immigration policies are being regarded by many as one of the solutions to this problem.

While stating that such demographic changes are inevitable for developed countries, Hamilton agreed that an influx of foreigners would help mitigate the effects of Korea's steep population decline.

He expected that Korea will be able to see the results of successful immigration plans, as it knows well where it should be heading.

"The country has plenty of plans and laws on paper, such as the Immigration Control Act, the Multicultural Family support, Nationality Act, and the third basic plan for immigration policy. Now it has to focus on getting that spirit into action and results, which has been the challenge," Hamilton said.

In doing so, the government should be able to convince the public who are skeptical about the changes, on the necessity of such policies.

"People want to know why we need changes, but being able to articulate on that, especially in this day and age where there's misinformation from the other side, is surely a challenge for the government," he said.

Hamilton highlighted the importance of sustained efforts and a willingness of policymakers to take some political heat to stand for the betterment of the country.

Migrant laborers work in a farm in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Jan. 22. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

He also stated that the media and public, for their part, should change the narrative on migrant-related issues and recognize the contribution of migrant workers to the success of the country.

"Too often people think that migrant workers are lucky to be working here, without recognizing that the country is also very lucky that the migrants are here helping them," he said. "They mainly work in areas that meet the primary needs of people, like providing food on the table, for instance," he elaborated.

And thus it is important to tackle the widespread misconceptions regarding migrants. "People fear that letting in more foreigners displaces jobs and decreases wages, but research doesn't support that," he said. "Those are just fears, not evidence-based. The evidence does support that immigration allows companies to expand."

Hamilton expressed concerns on the low-level of welfare for migrant workers in Korea, saying, "In a country so developed and successful, it is particularly disturbing."

Therefore, the Employment Permit System (EPS), a state-run program which brings in migrant laborers, should be reviewed, according to Hamilton. "Although it has been proven as a successful scheme in general, but like many other long-running solid platforms, there are some areas to be improved," he said.

"There needs to be work on the enhancement of monitoring employer's compliance. The mismatching of employees to employers, a problem noted by many people, should also be looked at. The way the system is now, it's not very even. There's too much power in the hands of the employer."

He also suggested that in order to meet the long-term needs of the labor market, the country should consider giving permanent status for skilled workers, rather than replacing them with new people.

When asked about future plans during his five-year term here, Hamilton said he will seek consistent talks with his Korean counterparts on various issues about welfare of all migrants, not limited to laborers. "We will be engaged in many different areas, because migration touches a bit of everything.

"I'll also be reaching out to the ambassadors from relevant countries to find ways that we can help migrants to understand their basic rights and protections, even the irregular migrants."

He also shared plans to work on the protection of foreign spouses, who "are often left out from protection on their settlement and well-being."

"As I'm quite new here, it will take some time to figure out what to prioritize based on what is attainable in the short term and medium term, but nothing will ever be deprioritized," Hamilton said.