Seoul increases translations of local laws for growing foreign community

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it is expanding translations of its local self-government laws, a crucial service for foreign nationals living, studying or working in the city, who now account for nearly 5 percent of the total population.

Local self-government laws are sets of ordinances and regulations issued by local councils in addition to citywide laws.

This initiative to provide local self-government laws in foreign languages began in 2010 during Mayor Oh Se-hoon's incumbency. The translated versions primarily include English, with Chinese translations added for some ordinances since 2016.

Through this initiative, 356 local self-government laws have been translated into English, accounting for 32.2 percent of Seoul’s total 1,105 local ordinances. Seoul has the most translated local ordinances among all local governments in South Korea, according to Seoul city officials.

The city government said that among the translated ordinances, the Seoul Water Ordinance received the highest number of views, with approximately 190,000. This was followed by the Seoul Fee Collection Ordinance with 170,000 views and the Seoul Building Ordinance with 150,000. Other areas that attracted significant interest include urban planning, city taxes, urban parks, residential and urban environment maintenance, tax reductions, parking facilities management and public property management, the city added.

Other ordinances with translated versions that could benefit foreigners include the Citizens’ Safety Insurance Operation Ordinance, which provides aid for disaster or accident victims, the Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Ordinance, which offers support for those in self-quarantine, and the Emergency Medical Support Ordinance, which provides emergency medical and caregiving services for vulnerable groups, the city noted. Additionally, the translated Resident Voting Ordinance enables foreign national residents to actively participate in decision-making processes, according to city officials.

The city plans to provide translations for 30 additional local ordinances this year. One of the ordinances to be translated is the Crime Victim Prevention Support Ordinance for Socially Vulnerable Groups, which includes support for foreign residents susceptible to crime.

The city also plans to promote the initiative through the Seoul Foreign Resident Center, the Seoul Counseling Center for Migrant Women and support centers for international students at various universities across Seoul.

"Seoul is home to over 260,000 registered foreign nationals and many more international residents," said Kim Tae-kyun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Planning and Coordination Office. "We will continue our efforts to translate the local self-government laws into foreign languages, ensuring that foreign residents can live as an integral part of the Seoul community without inconvenience."

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as of May about 440,000 foreign residents, including 260,000 registered foreign nationals, live in Seoul, making up approximately 4.7 percent of the city's population. In other words, roughly 1 in every 21 people in Seoul is a foreigner. Registered foreign nationals are those staying in Korea for more than 90 days for purposes such as work or study, who are required to apply for a registration card at a local immigration office within 90 days of their arrival.

This initiative by the Seoul Metropolitan Government aligns with the national trend in South Korea to provide laws and regulations in foreign languages. The Ministry of Government Legislation offers translations of approximately 4,600 administrative laws, out of the nation's total 5,000 statutory laws, in English, Chinese, Japanese, German and Spanish.

"As the number of foreigners residing in the country increases, the demand for laws translated into foreign languages is rapidly growing," an official from the Ministry of Government Legislation said.

Additionally, the Government Legislation Ministry provides essential laws for daily life and other crucial legal information on its dedicated webpage, translated into 12 languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Arabic, Uzbek, Indonesian, Japanese, Bengali, Thai, Cambodian and Nepali.