The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on August 22 that it had recommended to the Ministry of Justice to extend the validity period of the Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance for foreign workers who are unable to enter Korea because the certificate expired before their health checkup results were available.
Yoo Cheolhwan, Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is speaking at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office. Photo by Yonhap News
This recommendation was made in response to a petition filed with the commission by a Bangladeshi worker, referred to as Mr. A, who claimed that he was not at fault for receiving his health checkup results after the three-month validity period of the certificate had expired, and requested permission to enter Korea.
Mr. A first entered Korea in 2018 and worked at a business in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. After receiving special re-entry employment approval, he left Korea in June last year and underwent a health checkup in August last year to re-enter the country. When signs of suspected tuberculosis were found, he underwent a second, more detailed examination. Although he was cleared of any health issues at the end of October last year, the validity period of the certificate, which had been issued by the Ministry of Justice in July last year, had already expired, preventing his re-entry.
The Ministry of Justice refused to reissue the certificate after its expiration. However, the commission determined that Mr. A was neither at fault nor negligent, and that there was no reason to prevent his entry since he had received special re-entry employment approval. Accordingly, the commission recommended that the Ministry of Justice take measures such as extending the validity period, and also requested cooperation from related agencies, including the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, so that Mr. A could restore his employment relationship and enter Korea.
Chairman Yoo Cheolhwan stated, "The commission will continue to actively address the difficulties faced by socially vulnerable groups, including protecting the rights and interests of foreign workers, and will work to continuously improve unreasonable systems in the process."
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