After many sleepless nights, a 41-year-old Afghan medical doctor successfully left Kabul with his family before the Taliban seized power last month and is set to begin a new life in South Korea.<br /><br />The Afghan doctor is one of 390 evacuees who arrived in Seoul last week where the government said it was amending immigration laws to grant long-term residency to those who provided special service to South Korea.<br /><br />Immigration is a contentious issue in South Korea, a country where many pride themselves on ethnic homogeneity. But according to a Realmeter poll this week, about 70 percent of South Koreans support the plan to grant the Afghans special status.<br /><br />Another Afghan evacuee told Reuters he appreciated the fact that the government had given them the status of "persons of special merit" rather than refugees.
