Special Permit

[Anchor Lead]

The government has granted Korean permanent residency to a Sri Lankan who saved a woman in her 90s from a fire. News conferences were held nationwide calling for attention to the human rights of migrant workers.

[Pkg]

In February last year, while no one else dared to summon up the courage, Nimal, a Sri Lankan worker, rescued a woman in her 90s who was trapped in a house fire.

[Soundbite] Nimal(Sri Lankan Worker (March 2017)) : "There are a lot of good Koreans."

Villagers even held a party in appreciation of his extraordinary bravery. A KBS team met the Sri Lankan worker to hear how he was doing. He received a government award for his heroic act and good deed as well as other prizes and donations. Although he is no longer undocumented, Nimal has not been able to find a job or receive health insurance coverage.

[Soundbite] Nimal(Migrant Worker) : "I now have a G-1 visa. It is really tough."

Now, he is able to stay and work in Korea as long as he wants, as the government granted him permanent residency in recognition of his sacrifice to save a Korean and protect her property. However, most unregistered migrant workers live in fear of being discovered and deported. Five accidents involving undocumented migrant workers have occurred this year, including a Myanmar laborer who fell and died on a construction site in August while attempting to run away from a crackdown on illegal immigration.

[Soundbite] Vice Chairman, Labor Union of Migrant Workers : "The Korean society is giving no consideration to the fact that migrant workers can be fired and their registrations can be nullified any time if they don't obey bosses."

There are roughly 1.3 million migrant workers in Korea. Migrant workers took to the streets calling for the abolition of an employment permission system. They voiced complaints that there are no people who can be defined as illegal.