The nation needs talented foreigners
Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun has proposed the establishment of an immigration administration to attract talented foreign manpower. The proposal is worth merit as the nation is one of the world’s fastest aging society with one of the lowest birth rates.
He predicts that population will fall from 2018. Currently, one out of every nine Koreans is a senior citizen aged above 65. By 2018, the number of the elderly will double to account for 14 percent of the population. In 40 years, two out of every five Koreans will be senior citizens.
The economy will lose vitality when workers are in short supply. Seoul has only two options for keeping the population from falling. The first is to boost the birth rate, but the current trend will not make a dramatic turnaround. The alternative is to adopt a proactive immigration policy.
Foreigners number 1.25 million, accounting for 2.5 percent of the population. Half of the foreigners are Chinese, many of whom have an ethnic Korean background.
Other countries, including the EU, are tightening immigration policy as they are struggling with economic malaise. Korea now needs to take measures to draw gifted foreigners.
The proposed Immigration Administration will be in charge of charting immigration policies. Currently, government ministries, including the Justice Ministry, have units dealing with foreigners. These functions could be integrated into the proposed administration.
An influx of endowed immigrants will stimulate liveliness and promote cultural diversity. Before the adoption of an aggressive immigration policy, Seoul needs to educate people on the merits of cultural diversity. Koreans are still proud of their homogeneous society.
The United States and Japan are two contrasting examples in immigration policy. The United States retains an economic vigor and cultural diversity. On the other hand, Japan has closed its door to outsiders. The world’s third largest economy is trapped in three Ds ― big debt, big deficit and deep deflation. Japan became an aged society in 2006. China overtook Japan to become the world’s second largest economy last year. Japan’s anemic economic situation is attributable primarily to the graying of the population.
In charting the immigration policy, the country should not repeat the same mistakes as the other advanced countries had made. A blind invitation to foreigners will eventually create social problems, including racial tension and additional government spending.
The country should be selective so that foreign immigrants are assets, not liabilities to the nation.
One caveat is the possibility of a reunified Korea. The nation will have to backpedal on the immigration policy after reunification.
Another dilemma would be a potential escalation of tension in the job market between locals and immigrants. The high-unemployment rate will force policymakers to be hesitant over introducing an aggressive immigration policy.
Korea should make a choice to either become a young industrialized country or remain as an emerging aged economy. Now is the time to ponder the unthinkable.
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Essential Vocabulary: birth rate: 출산 율/liability: 법적책임/vigor: 힘
