South Korea’s HIV testing of foreign teachers challenged in compensation claim
- Lisa Griffin is seeking one year’s lost wages of US$21,000 because her contract was not renewed in 2009 after she refused to be tested for the disease
- But the government says the testing was legal and proportionate, and that the statute of limitations has already expired
A New Zealander who lost her teaching job in South Korea after refusing to take a HIV test is suing for damages after the country rejected a recommendation by an international watchdog on racial discrimination that she deserved compensation.
In a case that has dragged on for a decade, Lisa Griffin is seeking one year’s lost wages of 24 million won (US$21,000) because her contract was not renewed in 2009 after she refused to be tested, believing it discriminated against and stigmatised foreigners.
“I was disappointed when I had to leave,” said Griffin, who now works in the United States. “I really liked my school, my colleagues and the students, and I was good at my job. And I was angry that it all happened because of someone else’s ignorance and prejudice.”
The first hearing is set to take place at a Seoul court on Tuesday.