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Impact seen for foreign schools
May 22, 2009
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| Korean mothers considering a trip to the United States to give birth and secure American citizenship for their baby may have to think again. Some of the privileges that Koreans with double nationalities have enjoyed here - including special status in education - may soon be gone. The Justice Ministry said yesterday it has proposed revision bills on multiple nationality so that Koreans with two or more nationalities will lose their status as foreigners here and would be treated as a Korean citizen. The revision bills will be submitted to the National Assembly in July after going through a public hearing, said the ministry. “There has been criticism that those with multiple nationalities, by exercising different nationalities to meet their needs, cause a sense of unfairness among those who cannot do so and this harms social unity,” said Cha Gyu-geun, head of the Nationality and Refugee Team at the ministry. At present, Koreans holding multiple citizenship have two choices: They can register as foreigners, or as Koreans and obtain a resident registration number. As foreigners, they need an alien registration certificate number. By choosing the latter, a number of multiple-nationality Koreans have been able to attend international schools here that are for foreigners only. Lower tuition fees at U.S. public schools and exemption from mandatory military service in Korea are also cited as benefits of U.S. citizenship. Because of this, it has become a trend among some wealthy and well-educated pregnant women here to leave for the U.S. a few months before the expected date of delivery, give birth there and then return. Park, 35, the wife of a plastic surgeon in posh Cheongdam area in southern Seoul, has given birth to both of her two children in the U.S. and says many of her friends take the practice for granted. “I don’t think anyone who can afford it would mind their kids gaining U.S. citizenship,” said the woman, a graduate of a prestigious university and daughter of a former high-ranking government official. The Justice Ministry also said that the revision bills will grant Korean nationality to Korean-born adoptees to foreign countries. Under current law, foreigners must give up their original nationality to become Korean citizens. “Korean adoptees lost their Korean nationality irrespective of their will. If they now give up the nationality of the country that raised them in order to recover their Korean nationality, then it will mean severing their relationship with their adoptive parents,” said the ministry. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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