The service, named ‘Maeul (Town) Lawyers,’ will be provided by designated lawyers, and will be available via Korea’s official immigration help line, 1345, in twenty languages. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A free law consulting service for foreigners will be introduced in five to ten Korean counties, said the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) on March 19.
The service, named ‘Maeul (Town) Lawyers,’ will be provided by designated lawyers, and will be available via Korea’s official immigration help line, 1345, in twenty languages. The service, due to be introduced in the second half of the year, will also be available through fax and email.
The MOJ will first assign lawyers to five or ten counties that have high foreign populations. The service will then be expanded to regions in which more than 10,000 foreign nationals reside, or where five percent of the population consists of foreign nationals.
The service is not off-limits to illegal immigrants. The MOJ is committed to providing legal services to illegal immigrants, and offering support to help them gain legal resident status. This January, the number of foreigners residing in Korea numbered 1,774,000.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
