Monday at Gwangju Koryoin Village: The Day When Legal Support Comes to the Community

Legal Support Group Offers Free Weekly Consultations
Assisting Koryoin Compatriots in Protecting Their Rights

The free legal consultations held every Monday evening at Gwangju Koryoin Village have become a reliable support system for local Koryoin compatriots. At 7 p.m., lawyers, labor consultants, and interpreters gather at the village community center to discuss a wide range of legal concerns faced by compatriots, including traffic accidents, unpaid wages, and immigration issues.

The Gwangju Koryoin Village Legal Support Group is taking the lead in protecting the rights and interests of migrant Koryoin compatriots. Photo by Goryoin Village

According to Koryoin Village on June 27, these activities are led by the Koryoin Legal Support Group, which was established in August 2017 with the Gwangju YMCA Citizen Rights Lawyers Group at its core. The first head of the group was attorney Kang Haengok, and currently, more than 20 lawyers and labor consultants are voluntarily participating. Consultations are held every week, and the cumulative number of cases has now surpassed 1,000.

Koryoin interpreters fluent in Korean also participate in the consultations. To assist compatriots who face difficulties in legal consultations due to language barriers, they convey the content of the consultations in Korean into Russian and other languages, facilitating communication. The interpreters said, "Many people shed tears after the consultations," and added, "Just empathizing and helping to find solutions provides great comfort."

Gwangju YMCA also provides support for litigation costs to Koryoin who require legal procedures. This has offered practical assistance even in cases where people had given up on legal action due to financial burdens. The support group aims not only to provide simple legal consultations but also to protect the rights and interests of Koryoin compatriots and to promote human rights.

An attorney with the Legal Support Group said, "We are not just people who deliver the law," and continued, "We want to understand the lives of Koryoin compatriots, and sometimes laugh and cry together with them."