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Justice Ministry strengthens policy on forced deportations

Published: 18 Mar. 2025, 16:39

LIM JEONG-WON
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Acting Justice Minister Kim Seok-woo speaks during a briefing at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 14. [NEWS1]

The Justice Ministry will forcibly deport foreigners who refuse to leave Korea without reasonable grounds by directly escorting such individuals on their outbound journey, the ministry announced Tuesday.

On March 12, immigration officials escorted and enforced the deportation of a person from Central Asia who was residing in Korea illegally and who refused to be repatriated to his home country, according to the Justice Ministry.

The Central Asian national reportedly refused to comply with requests for travel documents and even tore up an application form to prevent his repatriation, according to the Justice Ministry. The man refused to leave Korea for approximately two years, or 735 days, while requesting a domestic residence permit.

The ministry reported that the man “seriously disrupted the order within immigration facilities by swearing at and assaulting other foreigners in the shelter.”

Accordingly, the Justice Ministry, after receiving the man’s travel documents through consultation with the embassy of the man's country of citizenship, immediately established and executed a repatriation plan to have the man escorted back to the Central Asian country.

The ministry indicated that in the past there were cases where persons being deported against their will from Korea caused disturbances on outbound flights.

In order to resolve these issues, the Justice Ministry plans to strengthen cooperation with embassies of various countries to quickly secure travel documents, while operating a dedicated overseas escort team for foreigners who refuse to leave the country.

“In preparation for the era of 3 million foreign residents, we will pursue a sustainable immigration policy based on public consensus,” said Acting Justice Minister Kim Seok-woo in a statement. “In addition, we will establish a strict order for foreigners staying in the country so that the public can feel secure, by actively executing overseas escort and forced deportation for foreigners staying illegally.”

BY CHO MOON-KYU, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]