480 Foreign Nationals with Criminal Charges Depart Overseas While Wanted

Board of Audit and Inspection Reviews Foreigners' Immigration Management... "National Police Agency Must Establish Measures for Managing Immigration of Wanted Persons"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that 480 foreigners wanted on criminal charges left the country while still on the wanted list.

On the 22nd, the Board of Audit and Inspection disclosed the results of an audit on the "Management Status of Foreigners' Entry and Exit." The National Police Agency requests the Ministry of Justice to impose exit restrictions on foreigners suspected of crimes to prevent them from leaving the country without investigation, and if they have already left, requests notification upon their re-entry.

According to the Immigration Control Act and related laws, investigative agencies can request exit restrictions for foreigners who are under investigation for crimes (such as death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for three years or more) or for those suspected of crimes (imprisonment for three years or more) with an arrest or detention warrant issued against them.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out, "The National Police Agency needs to establish regulations requiring exit restrictions to be requested simultaneously when foreigners are placed on the wanted list."

The National Police Agency currently does not have regulations in the Crime Investigation Rules (National Police Agency directives) requiring exit restrictions for wanted persons, leaving it to individual police stations to decide autonomously.

The Board of Audit and Inspection noted, "Upon reviewing 2,931 foreigners on the wanted list as of the end of October 2020, no exit restriction requests or similar measures were taken for 2,686 individuals, and 480 foreigners left the country while still wanted, making it impossible to proceed with investigations or trials."

The National Police Agency was also criticized for negligence in requesting notifications when wanted foreigners who had already left the country re-enter.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated, "The National Police Agency allowed each police station to autonomously decide whether to request notification upon re-entry of wanted foreigners and did not establish processing standards related to notification requests," adding, "Among the 2,931 wanted foreigners, 176 are currently abroad, and even if they re-enter, securing custody is difficult, raising concerns about the inability to proceed with investigations."

The Board of Audit and Inspection instructed the Commissioner of the National Police Agency to request exit restrictions or notifications upon entry for wanted foreigners who are staying domestically without exit restrictions or those abroad without notification measures upon entry.

Meanwhile, issues were found in managing vehicles registered under the names of foreigners who have completely left the country. The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out, "Upon inspecting about 200,000 vehicles registered under foreigners' names as of October 2020, 10,338 are suspected to be 'ghost cars' (vehicles registered under owners who have completely left the country)," adding, "Most local governments have not properly enforced driving suspension orders or similar measures on vehicles suspected to be ghost cars registered under foreigners' names."

The Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to coordinate with local governments and the National Police Agency to establish appropriate measures such as driving suspension orders and compulsory deregistration of vehicles suspected to be ghost cars registered under foreigners' names.