South Korea to fingerprint foreign visitors

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet approved a law revision Tuesday to require
all foreigners entering South Korea to be fingerprinted and photographed from
2012.

Under the revised immigration law, all foreigners over the age of 17, excluding
diplomats and those traveling on official duties, must have their fingerprints
scanned and be photographed during entry procedures.
The revision will be submitted to parliament and is expected to take effect as
early as the second half of 2012, officials said.
While the new requirement has raised concerns about possible human rights
violations, officials said it is primarily intended to regulate illegal entry by
foreigners for safety reasons. The United States and Japan have already adopted
similar fingerprinting policies.
"We think the new policy does not necessarily discriminate against foreigners.
Koreans are also required to provide their fingerprints and personal information
when they apply for resident registration cards at the age of 17," said Park
Cho-hyon, an official at the Justice Ministry.
The revision also will ease regulations on filing change of workplace for foreign
professionals to within 15 days of the change.
Foreign workers are currently required to obtain permission from the government
prior to changing jobs.
The number of foreign workers in South Korea categorized as professionals or
skilled workers was approximately 40,000 as of September out of 540,000
registered workers from abroad, according to the Justice Ministry.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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