Deportation Enforced After Refusal to Apply for Home Country Passport
The Ministry of Justice has deported a protected foreign national who had refused to leave the country for over two years without a valid reason and was illegally residing in Korea.
On May 30, the Ministry of Justice announced that it had taken deportation measures after illegal resident A refused to apply for a passport from their home country without justifiable grounds and did not return home. The deportation was carried out by issuing a travel certificate for A and having immigration officials personally escort them back to their home country.
A entered Korea in April 2018 for tourism purposes but overstayed illegally and violated domestic laws, including driving without a license, resulting in a deportation order. However, A refused to leave the country for two years and seven months.
While staying at a detention facility, A damaged internal CCTV cameras and received a fine. A also damaged a light installed on the ceiling of the facility, swallowed a screw, and was hospitalized, further disrupting order within the facility.
Previously, A could not be deported due to the domestic laws of A's home country, which require a direct application by the individual for passport issuance. The Ministry of Justice stated that, through close cooperation, including proposing to the embassy of A's country the use of a Korean travel certificate for repatriation, they were able to proceed with the deportation.
The Ministry of Justice said, "Although we expect an increase in foreign nationals who refuse to apply for passports in an attempt to exploit the amended Immigration Control Act, which sets an upper limit on the detention period for those under deportation orders, we will work closely with the respective embassies to repatriate protected foreign nationals to their home countries as quickly as possible."
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