Bill sought on insurance for foreign workers

Bill sought on insurance for foreign workers

Feb 10, 2005

Ruling party lawmaker says will push for compulsory health measures

A ruling party lawmaker said he will push for a compulsory health insurance system for foreign workers in Korea, acknowledging the need after the recent case in which female Thai workers developed the disease polyneuropathy as a result of a long-term exposure to hexane.

"Under the current law, which has both voluntary and compulsory application systems, illegal employees are unable and unwilling to be insured, and they are the ones who end up with severe diseases," said ruling Uri Party lawmaker Kim Choon-jin. He will submit the new bill during parliament's February extra session.

The Thai workers' case left the nation feeling guilty about many foreign employees suffering from industrial illneses due to the lack of safety measures and medical treatment.
The Thai women workers were paralyzed from the waist down after working in a South Korean factory making liquid crystal display equipment without proper safety measures.
The number of foreign workers suffering from industrial illlnesses due to the lack of safety measures at workplaces has grown steadily. In 2003, nearly 2,350 migrant workers were listed as victims.

A bigger problem is that migrant workers are unable to receive appropriate treatment as many of them are illegals who move frequently from one workplace to another.
Under current law, only foreign employees with general work permits qualify for compulsory health insurance while illegals without proper work permits - estimated by the Ministry of Justice to be 43 percent of the total migrant workers - are uncovered.

"The symptoms of diseases can be prevented from worsening if treated earlier on but right now these victims are not in a position to receive regular health checkups," said Kim. "It is the law for workers exposed to harmful chemicals to receive special health checkups in order to prevent vocational diseases. The case should be no different for foreign workers."

The new bill will combine the two systems into a compulsory system so the health of all foreign workers can be watched over more efficiently, Kim said.
Because of the new bill, foreign workers in Korea who fall under the presidential decree definition of migrant employees will be included in the scope of the nation's compulsory health insurance policy.

"The new system would secure the health condition for the foreign workers and would bring down the number of sufferers effectively," said Kim.