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South Korea
AsiaEast Asia

South Korea’s proposed citizenship law overhaul faces anti-China backlash

  • The measure called for easing the pathway to citizenship for children born to long-term foreign residents, by simply notifying the justice ministry
  • A presidential petition opposing the plan has gathered over 300,000 signatures as negative views of China among Koreans hit historic highs

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A Chinatown in Incheon, South Korea. File photo: AP
Reuters
South Korea is trying to increase its future working population by making it easier for children of foreign residents to become citizens, but its plans have run into trouble in the face of rising anti-China sentiment.
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A measure proposed by the Ministry of Justice – first made public in April – called for easing the pathway to citizenship for children born to long-term foreign residents, by simply notifying the ministry.

A presidential petition opposing the revision has gathered over 300,000 signatures. The chat room of an online hearing held to discuss the proposal in May was overwhelmed with expletive-laced complaints by the tens of thousands of viewers.

The justice ministry has said it is still taking into account public opinion and the advice of experts before submitting the proposal to the Ministry of Government Legislation.

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“Given the strong backlash, I would say the ministry has already lost much of the momentum to push ahead with the proposal,” said Jang Yun-mi, a lawyer who specialises in issues related to children.

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