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| Jeju International Airport is crowded with foreign nationals preparing to leave Korea under a special amnesty program, in this March 8, 2020, file photo. More than 32,000 undocumented foreign nationals living here returned to their countries under the program in 2022, an official told The Korea Times. Yonhap |
Justice ministry plans to crack down on illegal immigrants as pandemic rules ease
By Jung Min-ho
More than 32,000 undocumented foreign nationals living in Korea left the country last year under a special amnesty program. Speaking to The Korea Times recently, an official at the Ministry of Justice said 32,026 undocumented foreign residents ― about eight percent of the estimated 410,000 undocumented foreigners living here ― returned to their countries throughout the year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the ministry's law enforcement operations to reduce the number of undocumented residents over the past three years. In an effort to keep the number at a manageable level, the ministry ran the program extensively in 2022 ― between January and June as well as an additional few weeks leading up to the end of the year.
The current program that has been running since Nov. 17 will end on Feb. 28.
Those who left Korea voluntarily under the program have been exempt from paying fines ― up to 30 million won ($24,000) ― and will be allowed to return.
The goal of the amnesty is to reduce the burden on immigration officials, who are struggling with a sharp increase in the number of undocumented residents, mainly for economic reasons, and to build trust with the foreign community here.
During the pandemic, the ministry's focus has been on conducting anti-virus-related inspections, such as encouraging undocumented residents to receive COVID-19 vaccines. As such rules ease, the ministry plans to crack down on undocumented residents, the official said.
The statement comes amid growing calls to strengthen controls on unauthorized residents. According to ministry data, the number of undocumented residents has climbed to more than 412,000 after reaching the 400,000 mark for the first time last September. Only 10 years ago, it was below 180,000.
Earlier this week, Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party called on the ministry to look over its inspection system following revelations that more than 150 foreign visitors who had entered Korea via Yangyang International Airport through a visa-waiver program disappeared from the radar over the last six months.
Such news has raised concerns among some Koreans, who consider themselves ethnically homogeneous despite a population of over 2 million residents of foreign nationality. On Thursday, an appellate court in Daejeon upheld the original verdict that convicted a man from Kazakhstan of sending about $1,000 to a terrorist group in Central Asia in 2020. He had been staying here without a visa. The same week, a Nigerian woman was arrested on charges of using other people's IDs. She was also staying here illegally.
In a different case, it was recently found that a man who died during a demolition accident in Jeonju two weeks ago was an undocumented worker from Thailand.
All this presents a challenging task for Korea, which seeks to embrace more foreign workers and visitors while minimizing social problems that may follow.
The ministry has been preparing to set up a new agency to comprehensively handle migrant-related policies. When asked when it will be launched, the ministry said in a statement that details, such as its size and specific roles, will be announced by the end of June.
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