Korea lags in personal freedom

Minod Moktan, better known as Minu, was sent on an 8:50 p.m. flight back to Nepal last Friday for violating immigration law by residing here without a visa for 17 years and eight months.

"He also took part in political activities such as protests against the government`s crackdown on undocumented workers and other anti-war and vigil demonstrations," the Justice Ministry said regarding Minu`s deportation.

In protest against the move, members of 32 civic groups took to the streets and staged a rally in front of the government complex in downtown Seoul on Monday.

One of their arguments was that the Justice Ministry should have given Minu, 38, the time to pack his bags after nearly two decades of living in Korea.

"What is important is that he had already become a member of Korean society. I hope the Korean government could have given (him) a little credit for that," Norma Kang Muico, researcher of East Asia at Amnesty International, said during a press conference last week.



This is one of the many incidents that match up with Korea`s ranking in terms of personal freedom in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, which was released earlier this week by the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank.

The index ranks nations in terms of economic fundamentals, entrepreneurship and innovation, democratic institutions, education and health. It also makes assessments on safety and security, governance, personal freedom and social capital as well as an overall ranking.

Out of the 104 assessed countries, South Korea was ranked 70th in personal freedom, followed by Macedonia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Thailand and Kazakhstan.

The survey terms personal freedom as citizens` satisfaction with their freedom of choice and their perceptions of societal tolerance towards immigrants and minorities as well as the freedom of religion, speech and movement, it said.

"Although South Koreans enjoy high levels of freedom of movement, religion and speech compared to the global average, only 64 percent are satisfied with their freedom of choice in their daily lives," the report said.

It added that Koreans` tolerance towards minorities and immigrants in society was perceived to be poor. With data taken from the Gallup World Poll, a mere 55 percent of the population believe people in their area welcomed immigrants, while only 60 percent thought their area was a good place for ethnic and racial minorities to reside.

With an overall ranking of 26th place, the country was placed 16th in entrepreneurship and innovation, 21st in economic fundamentals and 32nd in democratic institutions. It also ranked 30th in education, 31st in health, 36th in safety and security, 27th in governance and 31st in social capital.

Lee Byoung-hoon, a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University, said the country`s lack of attention to quality of life and a failure to keep one`s composure was no sudden news in Korea.

"In terms of our societal tolerance towards migrant workers, we have excessively concentrated on the values of the nation`s interests," he said.

"I believe the personal freedom here is being evaluated in such a way due to the fact that one`s individuality is continuously being ignored, even though we`re transitioning into a multicultural and a knowledge-based society."

(sharon@heraldm.com)







By Cho Ji-hyun