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SCMP’s Asia desk

Residents of a small South Korean county are urging local authorities to abandon plans to accept Myanmar refugees, after raising concerns about the potential effects it would have on the community and the welfare of the town’s existing residents.
The announcement to welcome around 40 Myanmar refugees in an effort to address the local demographic crisis had sparked critical reaction to an online bulletin board run by the Yeongyang government, according to Korean media reports.
“The idea that depopulation can be solved by multicultural or refugee immigration policies is absurd. That is wrong,” one user said, as quoted by the Korea Times.
“I hope you come up with a policy to help your own people.”

Some users have requested that the plan be cancelled, expressing concerns that the newcomers would only take advantage of the initiative.
“If they come, they will only receive benefits and eventually leave for the cities,” another user told the Nongmin Newspaper.
Frustrated by the hostile reactions, local officials were re-evaluating the feasibility of continuing the policy as pressure mounted on county head Oh Do-chang, who was up for re-election the following year, according to the Korea Times, which cited an anonymous source.
Last week, Yeongyang authorities said they had been liaising with the central government and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to attract 10 Myanmar refugee families, or about 40 people, to settle in the community as early as the second half of this year.

With just over 15,000 residents, the county, about 230km (140 miles) from Seoul, has the lowest population among districts in South Korea, excluding islands.
“If there is any way to prevent population decline, we are considering all possibilities, including attracting refugees,” an official who spoke anonymously told the Korea Herald last week. “We are doing our best to ensure the region does not disappear.”
The plan includes converting a closed school site into housing for the new residents, which will primarily benefit members of the Karen ethnic minority from Myanmar who have been displaced by ongoing conflicts between independent fighters and government forces.
The Ministry of Justice, which met with Yeongyang officials three times since July to discuss the initiative, was supportive of the plan, according to Dong-A Daily.


“Once satisfactory jobs and housing are secured for refugees, we will request cooperation from the UNHCR,” the ministry said.
As the country’s population declines, many local governments are rushing to attract facilities once deemed undesirable, such as prisons, crematoria, and incinerators.
Such facilities usually include central government financial subsidies and resident amenities as compensation, making them appealing to local governments.
Last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published a paper that estimated South Korea’s population of 51.7 million would decline by almost half to about 27.5 million by 2085.
Meanwhile, Myanmar nationals made up the largest group of officially recognised refugees in South Korea, with 474 granted refugee status last year, according to Radio Free Asia, which cited the justice ministry.


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South Korean county faces backlash over plan to attract Myanmar refugees amid population crisis

Samji Town in Yeongyang, South Korea. Photo: Handout

A Thai official stands guard as refugees from members of the Karen ethnic minority from Myanmar sit at the Thai-Myanmar border town of Mae Sot. Photo: Reuters

Yeongyang County is an inland county in the northeastern area of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Photo: Handout

South Korean county invites Myanmar refugees to revive dwindling population

Myanmar refugees and their children, who fled a surge in violence as the military cracks down on rebel groups, are seen at a camp near the Myanmar-Thailand border in Kayin state. Photo: AFP

Yeongyang county in South Korea is exploring a unique solution to overcome its dwindling population. Photo: Handout

Yeongyang county, South Korea, hopes to revitalise its community by welcoming refugees. Photo: Handout

South Korean medical schools face expulsion amid ongoing strike over quotas

A lecture room at a medical school in Daegu, South Korea, lies empty amid ongoing anger from doctors and students over a government quota. Photo: Yonhap via AP

A medical worker walks down a hallway in a hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Medical students in the country face expulsion threats as schools demand their return amid strikes over disputed government admission quotas. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Doctors strike and shout slogans during a rally to protest against government plans to increase medical school admissions and healthcare reform in Seoul, South Korea on June 18, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Vietnamese woman gives birth in South Korean ambulance as medical crisis persists

An ambulance seen in Pocheon, South Korea. Photo: AP

Doctors attend a rally in Seoul to protest against government plans to increase medical school admissions. Photo: Reuters

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Southeast Asia

The proposal to bring in 40 refugees has raised welfare concerns among Yeongyang residents, who question the government’s priority on helping locals


The proposal to bring in 40 refugees has raised welfare concerns among Yeongyang residents, who question the government’s priority on helping locals.


Myanmar

Human rights