Illegal Immigrant Foreigners’ ‘Fake Room Rental Contracts’ Issued by Gosiwon Owner Fined 3 Million Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A gosiwon owner who wrote ‘fake room rental contracts’ for illegal foreign residents in exchange for money has been fined.

On the 13th, according to the legal community, Judge Nam Shinhyang of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 17 sentenced Kim (66), a gosiwon owner indicted for aiding and abetting a violation of the Immigration Control Act, to a fine of 3 million won.

The court stated, "Although Kim denies the intent of the crime, considering the evidence, it can be concluded that he was fully aware that the foreigners did not reside in the gosiwon and that the room rental contracts were intended to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice Immigration Office to obtain permission for a change of residence status."

Earlier, Kim operated a gosiwon in Yongsan-gu, Seoul in 2018 and was charged with aiding and abetting foreigners, including M, an Egyptian national, by writing false room rental contracts in exchange for a total of 1.11 million won over eight installments ranging from 80,000 to 150,000 won, allowing them to fraudulently apply for residence status changes.

The current Immigration Control Act stipulates that submitting forged or altered documents or applying by fraudulent means related to foreigner residence status permission, or facilitating or encouraging such acts, is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Additionally, Article 32 of the Criminal Act punishes those who aid and abet another’s crime.

In response, Kim’s defense lawyer denied the charges, stating, "There was no intention to facilitate illegal stay by foreigners," and Kim himself appeared in court claiming, "The contract was made properly, and I truly did not know it was illegal."

However, the court did not accept Kim’s claims. Based on conversations with foreigners and other circumstances, the court judged that he was fully aware of the situation and wrote the room rental contracts accordingly.

In fact, during the investigation, it was revealed that when M said, "I won’t actually live here, so please make a room rental application," Kim responded, "Since the address is here, please contact me if mail arrives from immigration." Also, when foreigner A said, "150,000 won, immigration," Kim replied, "Okay, okay, hurry up with the money, I’ll make it for you."

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Justice Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters, as of the end of February, there were 2,011,259 foreigners residing in Korea, of whom approximately 20%, or 391,858, were illegal residents.