The nation’s human rights watchdog has concluded that some local governments’ administrative orders for all foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 testing constitute discrimination against foreigners.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said, Monday, that it recommended the local governments and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to establish and implement non-discriminatory quarantine policies.
The recommendation comes after orders made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Government earlier this month received a strong backlash from foreign residents here.
“The unprecedented COVID-19 situation has greatly changed perceptions of the value of equality in our society. We realized that anyone can be subject to hatred and discrimination, so it is best for our community that no one is excluded from the society’s system to protect human rights,” the NHRCK said in a statement.
“However, amid increasing infections at companies where a large number of foreigners work, the authorities issued the orders for mandatory COVID-19 testing by segregating foreign workers,” the commission said.
It especially noted Gyeonggi provincial government’s other order, which required employers to have all foreigners they plan to hire undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for COVID-19 before hiring and employ only those who test negative.
As to whether these measures infringe on foreign residents’ right to equality, the commission reviewed relevant laws, the Constitution and international laws and treaties. “And we concluded they were issued without reasonable cause, because nationality does not matter when it comes to COVID-19 infection, and thus they are discriminatory against foreigners and should be stopped immediately.”
It said segregating specific groups without reasonable grounds could rather prevent the groups from undergoing tests. “This could label foreigners as suspected coronavirus carriers that need tests and create hatred and discrimination, so the governments may not achieve their original purpose of preventing infection,” the commission said.
On March 16, Seoul City issued its own order for all foreign workers to receive COVID-19 tests by March 31, following a similar measure taken by the surrounding Gyeonggi Province the previous week.
These orders brought huge protests from the foreign community for creating xenophobia and treating foreigners unfairly, with protests lodged by foreign communities of various fields, including students and professors at universities, embassies and foreign chambers of commerce.
Following the protests, Seoul City changed the order, Friday, to “advisory” for foreign workers to receive the test by the end of the month if their workplaces have a high risk of infection.
