Foreign nationals who engaged in illegal employment activities after applying for refugee status, as well as the head of a job placement agency who facilitated their illegal employment, have been apprehended.
On July 28, the Changwon Maritime Police in Gyeongnam announced that they had referred a man in his 30s of Uzbek nationality, identified as A, and a job placement agency head in his 60s, identified as B, to the prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Immigration Control Act.
According to the Changwon Maritime Police, A is suspected of earning 18 million won by working as a day laborer at port logistics companies in the Busan New Port area of Jinhae-gu, Changwon, from September 3, 2024, to June 12 of this year.
As a refugee applicant, he stayed in Korea during the screening period and worked without obtaining permission from the relevant authorities, thereby earning income illegally.
Refugee applicants are allowed to stay in Korea during the screening period with a 'G-1-5' visa, but if they wish to work during this period, they must obtain 'permission for activities outside of their visa status' from the local immigration or foreigner office.
B is accused of facilitating A's illegal employment by introducing him to port logistics companies on 124 occasions.
The Changwon Maritime Police launched an investigation after receiving intelligence that a refugee applicant was working illegally at a port logistics company near the New Port, and subsequently apprehended both A and B.
The term 'refugee' refers to a person who, due to persecution or threats to their life based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is unable or unwilling to seek protection from their home country and has left their country as a result.
South Korea became the first country in Asia to enact an independent Refugee Act in 2012, which has been in effect since 2013.
The refugee screening process involves application, interview, fact-finding, appeal, and administrative litigation, and it can take several years to reach a final decision.
In particular, there have been cases where the refugee screening system has been exploited as a means to extend one's stay in Korea, based on the legal provision that 'a refugee applicant may remain in Korea until a final decision is made regarding their refugee status (and if an administrative appeal or litigation against a denial of refugee status is in progress, until those procedures are concluded),' which has emerged as a social issue.
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