The reaction to the way members of the privileged groups in our society have given up Republic of Korea citizenship in order to avoid military conscription is upsetting the whole country. The new Nationality Law took effect on Tuesday and so you will no longer be able to surrender your citizenship to avoid the military, but it looks like the controversy is not going to go away easily.
According to preliminary figures from the Justice Ministry, some 1,692 individuals have gave up Korean citizenship between May 6, when the revised Nationality Law was passed, and May 23. Surprisingly 179 of the 1,287 who did so inside Korea were under the age of 5, and 138 were between the ages of 6 and 10. The behavior of parents taking away their child's citizenship when he does not have the ability to decide his own future is selfish and even a form of violence. It has been indirectly confirmed that a considerable number of those parents are members of privileged groups in Korean society. 26 percent work in academia, and 54 percent are or were at one time sent overseas as part of their jobs. 9 are civil servants, including professors at national universities.
There is no one who will not feel rage at the deceptive attitude of those who have enjoyed so many benefits in this country. There must be a price that goes with renouncing citizenship in such a way, but it must not stop at collective venting. Korean society will come out of this more mature if it used as an opportunity to find a way to deal with the kind of widespread thinking that wants to avoid the draft, and as an opportunity for critical examination of the concept of "Korean citizenship" and the process of acquiring and renouncing it.
To that end we must first and foremost guard against military service or citizenship being absolute standards, because there are always poisonous mushrooms growing in the shade of absolute authority. There cannot be a spreading of values such as tolerance of conscientious objectors and the resolving of discrimination against women, who have no military obligations, and migrant workers. It is symbolic of the mood these days when popular singer Son Ho Yeong hurried to renounce US citizenship and enter the military the moment he was caught up in controversy regarding the status of his nationality.
The Hankyoreh, 25 May 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Don't Just 'Vent' Over Renunciations of Citizenship |
