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| Gettyimagesbank |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea ranked 13th out of 52 countries on its level of social integration of migrants in the Migration Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), according to the latest MIPEX report issued earlier this month.
First published in 2004, the MIPEX is a comprehensive international benchmark on the integration policies of countries around the world. Its latest edition issued earlier this month covered 52 countries across five continents including the EU member states, the U.S., Canada and India, measured between 2014 and 2019.
Korea was ranked along with the United Kingdom, France and Iceland, each receiving 56 points out of 100, which is higher than the MIPEX average of 52.
Korea took the lead among five Asian countries, followed by Japan, China, Indonesia and India.
But the report pointed out that the country's immigration policies are less developed than those of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., the traditional top destinations for migrants.
Among the eight indicators ― healthcare, labor market mobility, family reunification, education, political participation, permanent residence, access to nationality, and anti-discrimination ― used for measurement, Korea's weakest point was healthcare, earning 42 points. Family unification and anti-discrimination were also "halfway favorable."
The country showed higher points in education with 72 points and permanent residence with 60 points.
The report added that positive changes in policies over the past five years were seen in teacher training to reflect diversity. On the other hand, the language requirement for permanent residence and renewable permanent resident permits were seen as negative policy changes.
"Immigrants in Korea face slightly more opportunities than obstacles for social integration as it promotes a comprehensive approach to integration similar to the Top 10 MIPEX countries," read the report.
"But Korea falls short of the Top 10 because its policies only go halfway to actually guarantee equal rights, opportunities and security for immigrants. It would need to remove key obstacles and offer more targeted support across different areas of life," it added.
Meanwhile, Sweden topped the list with 86 points, followed by Finland with 85, Portugal with 81 and Canada with 80 points.
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