The Filipino government has asked the Korean government to stop issuing E6 entertainment visas to unqualified Filipino women:
The Philippine Embassy in Seoul on Monday submitted a petition to South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, urging the South Korean Embassy in Manila to stop issuing entertainment visas or E-6 visas to unqualified applicants, which allegedly help the illegal trafficking of Filipino women into Korea.
“Our embassy has received information that Filipino entertainers were able to obtain visas from the South Korean Embassy in Manila or in other countries with forged documents through bribery,” Philippine Ambassador to Seoul Aladin Villacorte told The Korea Times.
The envoy added, “Though the South Korean government agreed last year to limit the issuance of E-6 visas to only musicians and singers who will be performing at reputable establishments including five-star hotels, it has not been properly implemented.”
The E-6 visas are issued by Korean Embassies overseas to local people who will come to work as entertainers in South Korea. However, they were reportedly misused as a tool for Korean recruiters to pursue an illegal human trade.
Villacorte stressed that many Filipino women, who have come here with illegal visas, suffer physical abuse and other inhumane treatment. In particular, his concerns are focused on women forced to work as prostitutes.
“We have piled up documents of abuse cases involving Filipino entertainers employed to clubs and bars around the United States military bases here,” the ambassador continued. “Such events keep happening, one after another.”
On the other hand, in what should be music to the ears of the Korean martyr missionary community, the Iraqi government is waiving visa requirements for Koreans wishing to visit the Middle Eastern country:
SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) — South Koreans looking to enter Iraq will be exempted from visa requirements until the end of this year, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, citing a report from its embassy in Baghdad.
The visa exemption follows the Iraqi government’s decision to allow citizens of any country that maintains a contingent of more than 500 troops in the country to enter without visas, the ministry said.
The Korean Embassy in Iraq pointed out however, that the exemption is only valid if the Korean Embassy informs the Iraqi government beforehand that you’re coming.
One Comment
This reminds me of the indignant reaction to a comment made by the president of Harvard, by which he was actually complimenting Korea as an example of how a country’s society benefits from economic improvements. Oh but he made the mistake of suggesting child prostitution in Korea thirty years ago. According to the articule, the Korean Welfare Minister said he was “was bitter in thinking that this was the perception that American leaders had of Korea.
” What does this mean? Should foreigners avoid heralding Korea’s advancements, for fear they conjure up memories of a time when Korea was not so advanced? Should we avoid ever mentioning that there was a time when mobile phones *GASP* lacked camcorders and mp3 players?
Perhaps the minister is feeling sad because he’s of the opinion that Korea never, ever had a “million chold prostitutes”. I’m sure the government says that the actual number in 1970 was only a couple hundred or so. Luckily now though there’s nothing like that happening in Korea these days.