|
Foreign residents are to find living in Seoul easier. The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday opened a one-stop consultation center for foreigners Wednesday. Dubbed the Global Center, the facility has 30 staff fluent in English, Japanese, Chinese and French and offers foreign residents information about getting a driver’s license or credit card to opening a bank account, using a hospital, garbage handling, cell phone subscription, visa extension and tax. It will launch its homepage late next month and will start offering business, tour and job information in four languages.
Starting in April, information about education, housing, tax, restaurants, bus and subway routes and cultural performances will also be provided. Tax bills will be issued in English, Japanese, Chinese and French to foreign residents in foreigner-heavy neighborhoods like Ichon, Yeonhee, Yeonnam and Itaewon. The center will be headed by Alan Timblick, a former CEO of Invest Korea, an investment promotion office under the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
The number of foreign residents in Seoul has jumped 4,3 times from 10 years ago to 229,000, accounting for 2.2 percent of Seoul’s population. The center operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays. An auto response system is also available for those who call in after working hours. They will get a return call from the center next day.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
