KOREA CHURCH WOMEN UNITED

PRESENTATION: Workshop 1, subgroup 3

TITLE: MIGRANT WOMAN WORKERS, THE  SACRIFICIAL LAMB OF THE IMF'S 
STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME

Perspectives on the duel meanings  of "globalization": in one  sense, globalization means 
global sharing of cultural differences.  On the other hand, it  also signifies the economic 
domination by the  powerful nations  based on  market liberalization.  South Korea  has 
been pressed to open its market  and to be incorporated to the  global economic system 
fully since the start of the Uruguay Round negotiations of the GATT. At the same time 
it was hit by a sudden economic crisis starting from the bankruptcy of Hanbo Steel, the 
typical case of government and big  business collusion and bribery.  The whole  society 
has been shaken  by the  scandal. Further  impact from  the ensuing  credit fall  made 
foreign banks collect loans  and debts and the  central bank was  deplete of its foreign 
currency reserve. Small, medium,  and large corporations  fell to bankruptcy  in suit. In 
December 3, 1997,  the IMF  began their formal  intervention in  South Korea  with an 
agreement with the Kim Young Sam administration. The conditionalities that IMF put to 
its bailout  loan  were tantamount  to  forcing the  whole  Korean economy  to  shrink 
suddenly, almost to the  verge of collapsing  entirely. This sunk  South Korea into  the 
debt status of 200 bullion US dollars,  which amounts to 500 billion if the  total interest 
of the debt is added.
        The fundamental  cause  of Korea's   economic crisis is   the bubble  form of 
economic expansion. Business without  their own investment had  been established with 
loans and debts the depended on  foreign banks that provided money with  low interest.  
Moreover since most of  food, raw materials and  resources (food 40%, feed  100%, gas 
100% depended upon the import, without dollars, Korea couldn't survive any longer.  At 
that time Korea  had only one  week's worth of  foreign exchange holdings  to sustain 
itself through the crisis. 
        The IMF's loan  conditions required  high interest  rate, structural  adjustment, 
deregulation, the control of  the labor union  movement.  The high  interest rate policy 
brings the sequential  bankruptcy of business,  and the  required structural adjustments 
push businesses to  tighten their  budgets and  to lay  off employees.   Daily laborers, 
women, migrant workers are first prioritized  for lay-off.  The number of  job losers is 
now up to 2 million.
        In this context there is no question that migrant workers are the ones who feel 
the first impact of this crisis and this is why they  are leaving Korea in great numbers 
these days. The Korean government targeted 146,000 undocumented migrant workers for 
retrenchment and  repatriation. The  small and  medium sized  business administrations 
have earmarked  IBRD(World Bank)  funds to  give cheap  loans to  those who  would 
retrench their migrant workers.  In addition, Korea's Ministry  of Finance and Economy 
announced (1998 foreign  manpower directory)  plans (Dong-A  Ilbo, March  10, 98)  to 
expel 120,000 undocumented migrants as a strategy to contain burgeoning unemployment 
among Koreans (to open up 3-D jobs to Korean workers)  Adding to such coercion, the 
threat of a crackdown or sweeps of factories employing  undocumented migrant workers 
led panicked owners of small factors that  employed undocumented migrant workers  to 
lay them off  in order  to avoid paying  the heavy  fines if  caught employing "illegal" 
migrant workers.  The Justice Ministry estimates  that 57,000 migrant workers had left 
Korea by the end of May 1998.   Yet there remains disparate and conflicting  claims as 
to the actual numbers of migrant workers left in Korea.  
        The total of  1,222 cases  reported from  March 9  - 14, 1998,  deliberating on 
settlements totalling 1,101,652,561  won have not  been resolved and  the plantains have 
been forced to stay in Korea. For unpaid wages; there 943 cases totalling to  764,818,241 
won (546,298 US dollars); fraud,  46 cases totally 328,956,000 won  (234,968 US dollars); 
Workman's compensation, 68  cases; cases of  death; Health care  cases numbering  78; 
Desperate/no money cases numbering 79; etc.
        Since November 24,  1993 most  migrant workers came  to Korea  through the 
Alien Industrial Technology Training Program (AITTP) which sewed as a modal for the 
legal entry of workers to Korea.  The government allowed the import of 20,000 trainees 
in response to pressure from small and medium sized companies (factories), and  grants 
control of this trainee program  in recruitment, personnel placement  management to the 
Korean Federation of Small  (and Medium sized) Businesses  (KFSB).  KFSB designed 
the trainee recruitment system with an inter-ministry body composed of the Ministry of 
Justice, Labor, Trade and Industry and Central Economic Planning Offices.

        Those in  the  worst situation  are  the owners   of small and   medium sized 
factories who were forced to replace migrant workers.   They face the threat of fine or 
persecution should  they persist  in hiring  them.  Moreover,  not many  Koreans take 
replacement for the long  term, low compensation  in difficult, dirty  and dangerous job 
environments.

        Female migrant workers of  the "illegal" type usually  work in the untouchable   
places such as in restaurant  kitchen, laundry places of  motels, farms, poultry farming, 
vinyl house farming, baby sitting, small  factories, house maid work, etc.  Salary  range 
is about   500,000 to  600,000  won.   Most of   female migrant  workers  were  from 
Korea-Chinese origin immigrating through the  help of brokers, relatives etc.   Migrants 
to Korea, in order to  earn money, can sometimes commit  fraud but most of  them fall 
victims to fraud.  Should they be  raped, sexually harassed or become  victims of other 
forms of violence,  they couldn't  report or  sue the injurers  because of  their "illegal" 
status.  When they are pregnant, the spouse often turns away and avoids responsibility.  
Two victims  whom I  made close  contact with,  a Russian  and a  Vietnamese, keep 
saying that they want to  go back home.  It  means they are suffering both  physically 
and mentally. 
        Just as in Japan where migrant female workers have been  usually identified as 
prostitutes, some Southeast  Asian women who  come to  Korea with entertainer  visas 
often stay and  work at  night clubs  near the  US. military  bases.  In Dongducheon, 
Songtan, Kunsan cities or  wherever US. military camps  exist, those women gather  to 
settle for earning. Prostitutions are increasing among them. Also the cases of victims of 
trafficking women, who have been forced into prostitution are increasing. But because of 
the lack of command in English and the lack of financial means, few people  try to help 
them.  Because  they have  entertainer visas,  they should  be certainly  recognized as 
"migrant workers".
        No one could  deny their contribution  of the  economic development of  Korea.  
Moreover, they are not "things" to be imported and exploited internationally in the name 
of structural adjustment. The Korean government  pervasively stimulated nationalism by 
manipulating the structural adjustment at the expense of "foreign"  workers.  Racist and 
biased policy needs to be reviewed,  and the South Korean government should  not take 
the risk of making  unnecessary conflict and isolation  from other Asian countries  with 
regard to the expanding international relationship. This is because the  migrant workers' 
issue is no longer  limited within Korea,  and has rather  become a major  international 
labour issue drawing  world's attention.  Away from racist  prejudice, we  have to see 
clearly what capitalist investors aim for in dealing with Asian countries including Korea.  
In order  to  avoid a   total chaos of   the whole  Asia economy   from the hands   of 
international  investors,  multinational  corporations,  and  international  lawyers,  Asian 
countries have to  cooperate with  each other  along with  joint studies  and plans  for 
long-range perspective.