Sri Lankan workers who rescued Korean pilot win residency
When an F-4E Phantom fighter jet plummeted into the waters off Hwaseong in August 2022, the two Air Force pilots aboard managed to eject just moments before impact. Floating in the choppy sea with fuel and thick smoke drifting across the waves, their immediate survival depended on whoever might reach them first. Help came not from a military vessel, but from a small local fishing boat crewed by…
Two Sri Lankan migrant workers who rescued a Korean pilot from the sea in August 2022 have been granted residency in South Korea. The pilots, who were aboard an F-4E Phantom fighter jet that crashed into the water near Hwaseong, managed to eject from their plane moments before impact. Floating in the turbulent sea, they relied on whoever would arrive first to save them.
It was a small fishing boat crewed by the two Sri Lankan workers who came to their aid. Four years later, in a rare move, the Ministry of Justice officially granted them Skilled Worker (E-7-4) visas, recognizing their exceptional contribution to public safety and the national interest. The decision opens a rare path to long-term residency in a country known for its strict immigration policies.
The two men arrived in Korea in April 2022 under the nonprofessional employment permit system (E-9).
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- Sri Lankan workers who rescued Korean pilot win permanent residency koreatimes.co.kr
