The Ministry of Justice is considering granting long-term residency status to a foreign national who played a heroic role in rescuing villagers during a wildfire in Gyeongbuk.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Acting Minister Kim Seok Woo (Vice Minister) instructed officials to review granting long-term residency (F-2) status to 31-year-old Indonesian seafarer Sugiyanto, who helped evacuate residents from a wildfire in Chuksan-myeon, Yeongdeok-gun, on March 25.

The Immigration Control Act allows the Minister of Justice to grant long-term residency (F-2) to individuals who have made significant contributions to South Korea or have advanced the public interest.

The F-2 visa, one of the long-term residency statuses allowing a stay of more than 90 days, is typically reserved for foreign nationals married to South Koreans, or those who have invested over $500,000 in a business and have stayed in South Korea for more than three years. The requirements for acquiring this visa are stringent.

Sugiyanto played a key role in evacuating villagers from Haenam Village in Chuksan-myeon after the wildfire, which started in Uiseong-gun and spread to Yeongdeok. Alongside the village head, he carried elderly residents on his back and led them 300 meters to a safe area on the breakwater.

The two men went door-to-door to wake sleeping residents, helping many to escape the dangerous flames. Sugiyanto has been working as a seafarer in South Korea for the past eight years, having entered the country on an employment visa. It is reported that he has a wife and children in Indonesia.

A Ministry of Justice official mentioned, "There was a similar case in 2020, but this is the first instance involving a wildfire rescue." The official added that it would likely take one to two weeks to decide the visa.

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