The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended revising the legislation and policies pertaining to undocumented migrant children’s access to health service to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It also issued a recommendation to the Ministry of Justice that the duty of notification imposed upon government officials would be exempted among medical workers in public healthcare institutions in order to ensure the right to education of migrant children.
In 2010, it was estimated that 17,000 undocumented migrant children were residing in Koreaaccording to the Survey on the Status of Educational Rights of Migrant Children, conducted by the NHRCK. Those children were either born from undocumented migrant parents or invited after their migrant parents had entered the Republic of Korea.
Article 24 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obligates State Parties to recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and ensures that no child shall be deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.
However, undocumented migrant children are often denied access to public and private health care services due to the Medical Care Assistance Act and the National Health Insurance Act, which do not fully embrace undocumented migrants.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Health and Welfare organized the healthcare financial assistance program for the vulnerable groups including migrant workers, but its procedure and benefits were inimical to undocumented migrant children’s access to healthcare. In order to apply for the program, undocumented migrant children were required to prove previous and current employment status of their parents. This requirement often discouraged the children from applying because their parents were worried about the crackdown. The program also covered limited medical care, such as hospitalization and surgery, but health checkup and vaccination were excluded. The number of medical institutions was limited to 77 nationwide. Thus, the NHRCK recommended that the Ministry of Health and Welfare may revise the healthcare financial assistance program in order to ensure undocumented migrant children’s access to healthcare by improving the application procedure, extending healthcare services covered, increasing a number of medical institutions, and securing stable budget for the program. The Commission also recommended revising the relevant provisions of the Medical Care Assistance Act and the National Basic Living Security Act.
The Immigration Control Act provides that public officials are obliged to notify the Korea Immigration Service in the case that they find out illegal migrants. Thus, in reality, undocumented migrants and their children are reluctant to use public medical institutions, being afraid of the crackdown. The healthcare workers would bleach the legal provision in the Immigration Control Act, if they provide healthcare or find out the illegal migration status of children. The NHRCK viewed that it was necessary to exempt healthcare staff from the duty of notification. In response, the Ministry of Justice implemented the recommendation of the NHRCK that the Ministry would no longer impose the duty of notification on school teachers, medical workers, and other governmental officials. Thus, the NHRCK recommended the Justice Minister to disseminate such policy direction to health service practitioners at public medical institutions.
