The Marmot’s Hole

Foreign workers hold a press conference in front of the Sejong Center for Performing Arts on Aug. 17, protesting forced deportation and calling for the legalization of all illegal foreign workers in Korea./Chosun Ilbo

The Chosun Ilbo reported that illegal foreign residents in Korea would be subject to criminal prosecution — possible under the National Security Law — for engaging in “anti-Korean activities.” The paper had two pieces on it — one translated into English, the other not. Frankly, the one that wasn’t was more interesting (as one of the Chosun’s translators, I apologize). Anyway, in materials submitted to Rep. Kim Jae-gyeong of the National Assembly?????s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Justice Ministry revealed that anti-Korean activities on the part of illegal foreign residents in Korea were on the rise, and there were concerns that some of these malcontents might try to link their activities up with al-Qaeda. According to one high-ranking government official, “Among the Muslim illegal residents here in Korea, there are individuals worthy of keeping an eye on.”

Given Korea’s recent inclusion on al-Qaeda’s Christmas card list and the heightened state of alert resulting from said inclusion (see previous post), the possibility of a linkage between resident foreigners (many of whom have serious gripes) and overseas terrorist organizations is something that is of obvious concern.

The Chosun said the authorities first became aware of these anti-Korean activities during a demonstration by illegal residents held at Myeongdong Cathedral early this year. During the demonstration, protestors shouted slogans like “We totally refuse to leave Korea on our own,” “Overthrow the government,” and “We oppose the Iraq deployment.” According to the government, this was the first time the protests took on a political nature; previous protests by illegal aliens had been small affairs focused on crackdowns on illegal aliens. The government judged that behind the now political protests were certain “radical forces,” and began preparing countermeasures.

Even before those protests, there were instances where individuals believed to be illegal aliens or recently deported illegal aliens had threatened terrorist attacks against Korean targets. On Jan. 16, the Thai anti-Korean group “Akia” issued a threat against Korean airliners, while on Jan. 27, the “Korean-based Yeonbyeon-bang Black Dragon (Amur River) Society,” probably composed of ethnic Koreans from China, sent a letter to the prime minister’s office in which they threatened to blow up the gas lines in Seoul’s Yeoui-do district (where the National Assembly is located).

Despite the countermeasures, the government hasn’t an idea how many individuals are engaged in anti-Korean activities are who they are. According to Justice Ministry statistics, however, there were 437,954 foreigners residing in Korea last year (including me!); of these, 67,068 came from 29 Muslim countries. In particular, 1,755 were from five nations on the U.S. State Department’s list of nations that support terrorism — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan. Another 7,177 were from Pakistan and Afghanistan, nations suspected of providing substantive support to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

The Justice Ministry explained, however, that there was yet no proof that anti-Korean activists were acting in concert with foreign or local groups, and the ministry was now concentrating on getting a read on those who might be engaged in anti-Korean activity. The ministry was also placing emphasis on blocking possible linkages between foreign terrorist groups and groups in Korea, particularly illegal aliens.

Some might find the Justice Ministry’s definition of “anti-Korean activities” a little broad, however (with a little help from Yonhap):

The justice ministry shall regard the following as anti-Korean activities: denying the Korean system (i.e. government) or policies, or stressing the negative aspects of Korea (with feelings of enmity toward Koreans); terrorism conspiracies or threats; leading or inciting (or actively participating in) demonstrations against national policies; and criticizing (or misreporting) government measures while making political claims, and propagating those claims; individuals about whom there are concerns he or she may engage in activities that greatly harm other national interests.

Outside the scope of anti-Korean activities are protests over simple rights issues like unpaid wages and improvements of human rights at the workplace.