Left Flank

Who knew a South Korean diplomat had it in him to be so snarky (via MLQ3):

â€ūThey do not remit their earnings to Korea,â€? he said. â€ūThey are Filipinos in Korean clothing. Don't look upon them as invaders, they are part of your economy, especially Korean tourists who spend their money in this country.â€?

â€ūIf some misbehave, I have no intention to defend them,â€? [Consul General Hong Sung Mog of the ROK Embassy in Manila] said.

Some 600,000 South Koreans visit the country as tourists every year, he said.

That's rich, coming from a Korean! «Ambassador» Hong was defending his actions in this little diplomatic tuff between South Korea and the Philippines:

The Korean embassy hinted it would take action against the estimated 15,000 undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the peninsula if the alleged harassment and extortion by some immigration officials of Koreans here does not stop.

In a phone interview, Consul General Hong Sung Mog of the Korean embassy told INQUIRER.net that the embassy was forced to stop issuing visas—not stop accepting visa applications as earlier reported—to Korea-bound Filipino workers starting Monday because of â€ūenormous pressureâ€? from Korean businessmen in the country.

He said he was forced to do this because the complaining businessmen might lobby their government in Seoul to act against the OFWs in South Korea who have extended their stay without proper documents.

â€ūI don’t like the situation to get out of hand. I like to have it contained here. If it is not handled properly here, it could get out of hand and the complaining Koreans will write to Seoul in hundreds; then it will become a serious problem,â€? he said.

â€ūThe first victims would be the 15,000 OFWs with no papers there, including seamen living in Korea. The workers with papers are okay,â€? he added.
Government statistics confirmed his estimate of illegal OFWs in Korea.

According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, as of December 2006, some 70,000 Filipinos work and live in Korea.

Of this number, some 6,000 are permanent residents, some 50,000 work legally, and some 14,000 are â€ūirregularâ€? or do not have the proper documents.

Hong noted that only around 200 Koreans here may be staying without proper documentation.

The Korean diplomat said the suspension of visa issuances is indefinite, but expressed hope the Philippine government will act immediately on the Korean businessmen’s complaints of extortion by immigration officials.

But, at least he's sorry! Filipinos should recognize the value of that utterance coming from a Korean. It seems hypocrisy doesn't stop at South Korea's relations with the US.