Married in Korea but remarried in Pakistan... Court Rules "Naturalization Cancellation Justified"

Marriage in Pakistan after marrying a Korean
Applied for simplified naturalization while in polygamous marriage and divorced Korean wife

A court ruling has upheld the authorities' decision to revoke the naturalization of a foreign man who, after marrying a Korean woman, committed bigamy by marrying another person in Pakistan.

The Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Ko Eun-seol) recently ruled against Mr. A, a Pakistani national, who filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Justice demanding the cancellation of the revocation of his naturalization permit, according to Yonhap News on the 14th. Mr. A, a Pakistani foreigner, married a Korean woman, Ms. B, in Pakistan in July 2001 and registered their marriage domestically in the same month.

Seoul Administrative Court

Two years later, in 2003, Mr. A married a local woman, Ms. C, in Pakistan, registered the marriage there, and had four children. In Pakistan, Muslim men are legally allowed to have multiple wives if they obtain the consent of the first wife. In March 2010, Mr. A applied for simplified naturalization in Korea, concealing the fact that he had another spouse in Pakistan, and the Ministry of Justice approved his naturalization in July 2012. Simplified naturalization is a system that allows applicants to naturalize more easily than general naturalization under Article 5 of the Nationality Act, considering that the applicant is the spouse of a Korean national.

Later, in June 2016, Mr. A divorced his Pakistani spouse Ms. C in Pakistan, and in December of the same year, he also divorced his Korean spouse Ms. B. One month later, in January of the following year, he re-registered his marriage with Pakistani spouse Ms. C in Korea.

In June last year, the Ministry of Justice revoked Mr. A’s naturalization permit, stating, "Mr. A concealed the fact that he was in a bigamous marriage with a Pakistani spouse and had four children while married to a Korean, and obtained simplified naturalization approval. This constitutes a serious defect in the naturalization approval process." The Ministry viewed Mr. A’s marriage to the Korean spouse as a 'sham marriage' intended to settle in Korea with the Pakistani spouse Ms. C.

Court: Monogamy is an Important Legal Order in Korea

Mr. A filed an appeal, arguing that since he had been married to Korean Ms. B for over 10 years at the time of naturalization, it was difficult to consider the marriage a sham. He also claimed that he was not in a bigamous relationship at the time of the revocation.

However, the court ruled that the Ministry of Justice’s revocation of naturalization was justified. The court stated, "If the Ministry of Justice had been aware of Mr. A’s bigamy at the time of his simplified naturalization application, it would not have granted approval." It added, "Mr. A did not list his Pakistani spouse and children in the family relations section of the simplified naturalization application. The government approved his naturalization because he was married to a Korean and had resided in Korea for more than two years, judging that he could be accepted as a member of Korean society." The court further pointed out, "Considering the marriage system norms stipulated in Article 36, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, monogamy is an important legal order in the Republic of Korea," and emphasized that "bigamy is a serious violation of Korean legal order."