Court: "Permanent Entry Ban on Overseas Koreans Who Committed Crimes Is Unfair"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A court ruling has declared that permanently banning overseas Koreans who have committed drug-related crimes from entering the country and refusing to issue visas is unjust.

According to the legal community on the 5th, Judge Choi Ki-won of the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 10, ruled in favor of plaintiff A, an overseas Korean, in the first trial of the lawsuit against the Consulate General in Los Angeles (LA) seeking cancellation of the refusal to issue a passport and visa.

A, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspended sentence in April 2014 after being convicted of importing and smoking marijuana while staying in Korea. On October 10, 2014, the Seoul Immigration Office issued a deportation order for A, who then left for the United States. The Ministry of Justice decided to permanently ban A from entering Korea starting June 30, 2015.

Subsequently, A applied for a visa at the consulate in August last year but was denied. The consulate cited Article 11, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act, which allows banning entry of drug addicts.

In response, A filed a lawsuit claiming, "The Consul General's refusal to issue a visa based solely on the entry ban decision made six years ago constitutes an abuse and deviation of discretionary power."

The court stated, "Considering that the purpose of the Overseas Koreans Act is to ease restrictions on the entry and stay of overseas Koreans in Korea so that their relationship with Korea is not severed even after acquiring nationality and settling in their country of residence, entry bans without a fixed period should be approached with caution."

Furthermore, the court ruled, "The Consul General did not weigh the conflicting legal interests but simply refused the application because of the entry ban decision made six years ago. The misuse of discretionary power itself constitutes an abuse and deviation of discretion."