A church supporting the rights of ethnic Chinese living illegally in South Korea said on Monday that thousands of their number are planning to file en masse for Korean citizenship.

The Seoul-based Church for Korean Chinese said some 5,300 ethnic Chinese residing in the South have applied for citizenship as of Sunday. Their applications will be taken to the Justice Ministry later this week.

A church official blasted the Seoul government for not recognizing the applicants' rights to live and work in South Korea.

He also announced plans for a hunger strike if the government rejects the demands of the applicants, adding that the church would file a suit with the Constitutional Court on behalf of the ethnic Chinese if the Justice Ministry refuses to accept the applications.

The government plans to launch a crackdown on undocumented foreign workers starting from next Sunday, as the deadline for the registration of illegal aliens ended on Oct. 31. The Employment Permit Act, passed in August, allows foreigners that register with the authorities to work legally in South Korea for up to three years.