S. Korea to conditionally recognize dual nationality

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- The government has drafted legal revisions that ease
regulations for foreigners seeking to become naturalized Korean citizens,
including allowing them to hold multiple citizenship, as part of efforts to
attract talent from abroad, officials said Thursday.
The Justice Ministry said it will soon submit the proposed revisions to
parliament for approval.
Under current law, South Korea does not allow citizens or foreigners living in
the country to hold multiple citizenship. Koreans who obtain foreign citizenship
through birth or emigration must choose a single nationality by the age of 22 and
automatically lose their Korean nationality if they fail to do so.
The revisions allow them to hold more than one nationality on condition that they
provide written pledges forswearing their rights as foreigners while in the
country. Such rights would include tax exemptions.
The issue is a particularly sensitive one in South Korea, where foreign
citizenship is sometimes used to evade compulsory military service for all
able-bodied men. In the past, suspicions of draft dodging by the sons of
influential politicians and opinion leaders have damaged or ended their careers.
Proposed revisions would also grant Korean nationality to foreigners married to
Korean spouses or those with valued expertise, Chinese emigrants who have lived
in South Korea for more than 20 years and adoptees who have returned to South
Korea.
Foreign residents with professional skills deemed valuable to South Korea's
interests can become naturalized Korean citizens without having to live in South
Korea for the minimum of five years as required under current law, officials
said.
The present law also requires those seeking naturalization to undergo state tests
and give up their original nationality upon naturalization.
"There has been a growing voice calling to ease strict nationality regulations,
which many claim are obstacles in attracting and retaining talented foreigners,"
Ryu In-sung, an official at the ministry, said. "We expect the revisions will
help prevent a brain drain and provide relief measures for the country's low
birth rate and its aging society."
According to ministry figures, 6,741 people have lost or renounced their Korean
nationality between 2004 and October this year, far surpassing the 518 who opted
for it.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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