ID :
29883
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 00:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/29883
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5 illegal migrant workers injured in police crackdown: witnesses
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Five migrant workers were injured while trying to flee from a police crackdown north of Seoul on Wednesday that led to the arrests of about 100 illegal residents, witnesses said.
The Justice Ministry, however, denied eyewitness reports, saying its crackdown
officials saw no such incident.
Witnesses said one of the foreign workers sustained bone fractures when he tried
to escape by climbing a factory wall, but fell to the ground. The five migrants,
all of whom are staying here illegally, were taken to a nearby hospital, they
said. Their identities and the extent of their injuries were not immediately
known.
"They were frightened by the crackdown, which was like a rabbit hunt, and were
injured as they tried to escape," Father Lee Yeong, who runs Sharlom House, a
welfare center for migrant workers in Namyangju, 20 km northeast of Seoul, said.
About 280 police and immigration officials combed through factories and
dormitories in Namyangju, home to about 900 illegal migrant workers from other
Asian countries. About 100 of them were arrested during the crackdown that
started at 10 a.m., ministry officials said.
Kim Yeong-geun, an immigration official, said the industrial complex in Namyangju
is notorious for illegally employing undocumented migrant workers. However, he
said that officials did not threaten the workers, causing them to jump over
walls, and they made sure that the workers did not go to the second floor.
"If injuries had occurred, they should have been taken to a hospital. We had
ambulances ready. But there were no such incidents today," Kim said.
The hard-line crackdown came as part of a new government policy launched in
September to expel nearly half of all foreign residents staying here illegally
within the next five years.
The government noted that foreign migrant workers were spotted taking part in
street demonstrations protesting Korea's free trade agreement with the United
States and troop dispatch to Iraq.
South Korea seeks to reduce the ratio of illegal aliens in the entire expatriate
community in Korea to 10 percent from the current 19.3 percent.
There are 223,229 foreigners staying in Korea without visas, accounting for 19.3
percent of the entire foreign population of 1.16 million.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
The Justice Ministry, however, denied eyewitness reports, saying its crackdown
officials saw no such incident.
Witnesses said one of the foreign workers sustained bone fractures when he tried
to escape by climbing a factory wall, but fell to the ground. The five migrants,
all of whom are staying here illegally, were taken to a nearby hospital, they
said. Their identities and the extent of their injuries were not immediately
known.
"They were frightened by the crackdown, which was like a rabbit hunt, and were
injured as they tried to escape," Father Lee Yeong, who runs Sharlom House, a
welfare center for migrant workers in Namyangju, 20 km northeast of Seoul, said.
About 280 police and immigration officials combed through factories and
dormitories in Namyangju, home to about 900 illegal migrant workers from other
Asian countries. About 100 of them were arrested during the crackdown that
started at 10 a.m., ministry officials said.
Kim Yeong-geun, an immigration official, said the industrial complex in Namyangju
is notorious for illegally employing undocumented migrant workers. However, he
said that officials did not threaten the workers, causing them to jump over
walls, and they made sure that the workers did not go to the second floor.
"If injuries had occurred, they should have been taken to a hospital. We had
ambulances ready. But there were no such incidents today," Kim said.
The hard-line crackdown came as part of a new government policy launched in
September to expel nearly half of all foreign residents staying here illegally
within the next five years.
The government noted that foreign migrant workers were spotted taking part in
street demonstrations protesting Korea's free trade agreement with the United
States and troop dispatch to Iraq.
South Korea seeks to reduce the ratio of illegal aliens in the entire expatriate
community in Korea to 10 percent from the current 19.3 percent.
There are 223,229 foreigners staying in Korea without visas, accounting for 19.3
percent of the entire foreign population of 1.16 million.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
