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COVER
The Ministry of Justice
More Professionals Become
Naturalized Koreans
BY LEE JI-YOON
STAFF WRITER
Aceremony for 26 new Koreans
who became naturalized in
October was held by the
Ministry of Justice on Oct. 27. To become
a Korean citizen, one is required
to have lived here more than five years
and pass the naturalization test.
According to Korea Immigration
Service, over 9,000 people from foreign
countries have become naturalized
Koreans this year as of September.
The number is expected to surpass the
record 13,000 by the end of the year.
Vladmir V. Saveliev (right) from Russia makes an oath at his naturalization ceremony held by the Ministry of Justice on Oct. 27
Only 54,000 people have taken
Korean citizenship since the country’s
independence from Japan’s colonial
rule in 1945. Chinese account for almost
45,000 of that total, followed by
people from the Philippines, Mongolia
and Pakistan — most seeking a better
life here.
However, as the number of naturalization
applicants from other regions
like Europe has increased, their
nationality and occupations have become
varied and more professionals
with higher education are included.
Vladmir V. Saveliev from Russia is
one such individual. Saveliev, 54, is an
expert in the field of three-dimensional
image display and has published some
10 articles in international journals and
holds five patents. After two failures, he
finally passed the naturalization test
and made an oath in Korean at the ceremony
representing others.
When asked why he became a
Korean citizen, he told reporters,
“Because I love Korea more than
Koreans do.”
He first visited Korea in 1998
when he was invited by the Korea
Institute of Science and Technology to
take part in a project with the Ministry
of Information and Communication.
After the successful completion of the
work, he came to Korea again and has
stayed here since 2000.
It did not take long for him to
make a decision on naturalization because
he had already been fascinated
with Korean history, culture and food.
Of course, the country’s advanced
technology was the decisive reason. “I
have wanted to work in Korea —
which has the world’s best technology
in the display area,” he said. He is currently
working at the Research
Institute of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, which is affiliated with
Hanyang University in Seoul.
Another is Kim Myung-kuk. Kim,
38, who was born in China and majored
in animal husbandry, also became
naturalized in October. Since
earning doctor’s and master’s degrees
at Seoul National University, he has
been working as a researcher at the
school. He studies eco-friendly pig
raising without using antibiotics in
their feed. His research is expected to
help Korea’s livestock industry, largely
dependent on feed materials from
abroad, and struggling to compete
with cheaper imported products.
Han Yeon, 35, is a naturalized
Korean citizen from China who has
exported Korean children’s books of
more than 100 titles. After studying
the Korean language and literature at
a local university, she has been working
at a publishing company and has
written two books in Korean.
Two sisters who had Taiwanese
nationality also became newly naturalized
citizens. Both studied pharmacology
at a university in Korea and
are planning to open a drug store. ■
A family is awarded naturalization certificates
Foreign engineers work with their Korean fellows
The Ministry of Justice
The Korea Herald
6 KOREA DECEMBER 2008
DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 7