В Корее иностранцам будут предоставлять бесплатные юридические консультации в случае различных споров, тяжб в Корее.

By Chung Ah-young

Foreigners will be able to get free legal counseling regarding disputes on domestic, civic, criminal and labor issues, starting on Monday.

The Ministry of Justice said Sunday that 57 lawyers appointed by the government and the Korean Bar Association (KBA) will help foreigners who have difficulties obtaining legal consultations due to the language barrier and a lack of information.

The legal counseling service is part of the Village Lawyer System which was introduced in 2013 to provide counseling services for people with disputes living in counties and villages where there are no legal offices. Some 1,500 lawyers have been called to serve 1,428 districts and areas for free legal counseling.

"Given the situation that foreigners live without legal assistance, we've decided to expand the current Village Lawyer System, which is in operation in counties and villages, to foreigners," the ministry said.

The government will assign seven lawyers to 10 districts and regions on a trial basis in Seoul and other metropolitan areas where a large number of foreigners reside.

The regions include Daerim 2-dong in Yeongdeungpo-gu; Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu; Gwanghui-dong, Jung-gu; Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu; Changsin 1-dong in Jongno-gu in Seoul; Daewon-dong in Osan; Danwon Seonbu 2-dong in Ansan; Wonmi-gu, Bucheon; Gwangjeok-myeon in Yangju; Suwon in Gyeonggi Province.

Foreigners who want to use the free legal services can make reservations through Hi Korea (www.hikorea.go.kr), the e-government for foreigners run by the justice ministry, or by calling 1345. Then, foreigners can set a date for legal consultation with lawyers available for the district and then an interpreter will help with a consultation conference call.

The interpretation service will be provided in 20 different languages. Any foreigner residing in Korea, regardless of their legal status, is eligible to use the service.

According to the justice ministry, the number of foreigners living in Korea reached 1.8 million as of August, representing 3.6 percent of the total population. Some 12,000 foreign workers filed a complaint with the authorities for back wages last year. Also, the number of foreigners involved in family litigation stood at 6,300 in 2013.

"We expect this system to help foreigners who have been isolated from legal services to settle down in Korean society," it said.