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Four heroic Mongolians saved the lives of several Koreans from a construction site that was engulfed in flames in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul on March 17. An investigation has uncovered their identities and revealed their story. As they were pulling people from the fire, the Mongolians inhaled dangerous amounts of smoke and had to be taken to a hospital. But as illegal aliens they feared that if their status was discovered, they would be deported -- so they refused treatment and fled the hospital, and went into hiding.
On Thursday the Justice Ministry said it would grant the four special permission to stay in Korea in recognition of their contributions to the country: risking their lives to rescue Koreans. They will reportedly be given jobs and one-year extendable stays.
The Justice Ministry's decision to allow them to stay is welcome. Just saving one person's life might not be enough to overlook their illegal status, but the magnitude of this particular case is so great that the ministry rightly decided to pardon their mistakes.
In light of their contributions -- they saved as many as 11 people -- the one-year stay seems too small a compensation. We should grant them the right of permanent residence. There is a legal basis to justify this. The provisions of the Immigration Decree stipulate that the justice minister can issue an immigrant visa for permanent residence (F-5) to a "foreigner who the minister recognizes has made a special contribution to the Republic of Korea."
Giving the foreigners permanent residence would be an excellent way to show the rest of the world the kindness of our country and the openness of our hearts and minds. What better way to improve Korea's image? Our country has long been regarded as less than welcoming to foreigners. Just ask the Chinese immigrants how hard it is to live here.
Any nation that accepts immigrants makes it a rule to bestow citizenship on foreigners who in some way make valuable contributions. The Roman Empire granted citizenship to slaves as well as foreigners and residents of their colonies in recognition of heroic acts. The Americans and the French naturalize foreigners who serve in their armies or contribute to the nation in some other valuable way. The principle here is that those who somehow work to better the state or society are entitled to appropriate compensation. Doing so makes every citizen proud of his country and in turn lays the foundation for national prosperity.
In this era of migration, when people commonly cross borders in search of opportunities, the right of permanent residence is much coveted. Korea accepts few immigrants, and as such naturalization may not be the proper option as it might irritate other governments. But by granting the right of permanent residence, those heroic foreigners could invite their families to Korea and freely move about without restrictions as to their stay, employment, and educational opportunities.
If we express our gratitude to those foreign heroes who saved our countrymen, it could serve as a starting point for an effort to establish the social disciplines of righteousness and rectitude. The Japanese paid homage to Lee Soo-Hyun, a Korean hero who died while saving the life of a Japanese man on a subway. In the same way, we should bestow an appropriate reward on those thoughtful Mongolians. Moreover, I would like to suggest that the mayor of Seoul award them certificates of honorary citizenship of Seoul, the same sort that was given to former national soccer team coach Guus Hiddink, and treat them as proud citizens of our capital.
This column was contributed by Seol Dong-hoon, Professor of Sociology at Chonbuk National University.
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