Four indicted over Hanshin University sending Uzbek students home for insufficient funds
Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 18:25
![Uzbek students from Hanshin University in Osan, Gyeonggi, are briefed on reasons, including issues related to bank balance requirements, for their removal from the country while on a bus on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/05/ac7370aa-6833-4c60-be4f-a147c6271e25.jpg)
Uzbek students from Hanshin University in Osan, Gyeonggi, are briefed on reasons, including issues related to bank balance requirements, for their removal from the country while on a bus on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]
The vulnerability of foreign students in Korea came into sharp focus this week as staff at Hanshin University were indicted for allegedly forcing Uzbek students to return home over bank balance requirements, along with a former immigration official accused of illicitly offering visa favors.
The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday indicted the former head of Hanshin University’s Office of International Affairs, a professor at the university and a staff member without detention on charges including abducting and transporting people overseas, aggravated unlawful confinement and aggravated coercion, according to the legal community on Wednesday. The indictments came 799 days after the incident.
The former head of the Pyeongtaek branch of the Suwon Immigration Office, who oversaw student visa affairs at the university at the time, is also standing trial on charges of violating the antigraft law for allegedly accepting offers of drinks and karaoke bar visits.
The former head of the university's international affairs office and others are accused of putting 23 Uzbek nationals enrolled at Hanshin University’s language institute on a bus on Nov. 27, 2023, transporting them to Incheon International Airport and sending 22 of them back to their home country against their will for failing to meet a minimum bank balance requirement for international students.
The only one of the 23 who did not return refused to board the plane after firmly expressing at the airport that they did not want to go back.
![Uzbek students at Hanshin University take a headcount on school grounds in Osan, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/05/6712d853-564c-42a8-ab68-ffc05435d1cd.jpg)
Uzbek students at Hanshin University take a headcount on school grounds in Osan, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]
An investigation began after nine of the students who were sent out of the country filed criminal complaints against university officials immediately after their departure. The case surfaced after the former immigration office chief was found to have reneged on a promise to provide visa-related leniency to the university.
The official promised in September 2023 that the international students would be allowed to maintain their visas even if they failed to meet the bank balance minimums — provided they remained in Korea and submitted proof by February 2024 showing they had maintained a balance of 10 million won ($6,800) for three consecutive months.
However, on Nov. 6, 2023, the official abruptly notified the university that students who failed to maintain the balance would have to be sent back to their home country or be deemed undocumented residents and subject to immigration enforcement.
In response, the university sent the students back to Uzbekistan to avoid having a large number of students classified as undocumented residents.
![Uzbek students from Hanshin University depart through Incheon International Airport's departure hall on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/05/34f0a679-1add-46a4-986b-e11fe749ca42.jpg)
Uzbek students from Hanshin University depart through Incheon International Airport's departure hall on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]
As the prosecution’s investigation dragged on, one of the victims applied for a review by a prosecutorial committee on Jan. 26, calling for a swift probe after more than 20 months passed without progress after the police transferred the case to prosecutors.
During that time, the former immigration office chief reportedly retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age without facing discipline. Of the 22 students who were sent out of the country, 21 have since returned to Korea and resumed their studies, with one opting against studying abroad due to marriage.
The university staff defendants argue that the school's headquarters is passing on the blame to them.
“The students’ departure was not something carried out solely by the school's Office of International Affairs but a matter that was reported all the way up to the president, yet the university headquarters is pushing responsibility onto those at the working level,” said one university-related source. “They have become scapegoats for the university’s organizational cover-up.”
![Uzbek students from Hanshin University depart through Incheon International Airport's departure hall on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/05/e332aff9-a9c4-431e-8a72-4b5178181a6c.jpg)
Uzbek students from Hanshin University depart through Incheon International Airport's departure hall on Nov. 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]
On the day of the departure, Hanshin University sent an official letter stamped with the president’s seal to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, which has jurisdiction over Incheon International Airport.
The letter said that the school was guiding students to depart within the lawful period “to prevent undocumented residency,” and that “a supervising escort will accompany them until boarding is confirmed,” while requesting cooperation in maintaining order at the airport.
It was also confirmed that more than 4 million won in private security costs was paid after receiving approval from the head of the planning office. The expenses were allegedly processed under the guise of a November student event featuring a business security special lecture.
Despite receiving detailed reports on the plan, senior administrators at the university headquarters, including the head of the planning office, as well as the university president, were not charged at the police investigation stage.
Prosecutors also concluded the case by indicting only three working-level school administrators, including the former head of the Office of International Affairs.
“After a thorough investigation, we filed indictments only against the four people for whom charges were deemed substantiated,” said a prosecution official. “A decision on the request for a prosecutorial review committee will be made soon.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SON SUNG-BAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)