Joint Crackdown on Illegal Foreign Residents Leads to Departure or Deportation of Over 13,000 People

The Ministry of Justice announced on the 3rd that from March 2nd to last month, the number of illegal stay and employment foreigners decreased by about 13,000 through joint crackdowns by related ministries and voluntary departure inducement.

Ministry of Justice [Photo by Yonhap News]

In particular, a total of 7,578 illegal stay and employment foreigners were caught through joint crackdowns alone. The Ministry of Justice deported or otherwise arranged the departure of 6,863 of them and imposed fines on 208. The rest are under investigation. A total of 5,247 illegal stay foreigners were encouraged to voluntarily leave through patrols and inspections in areas densely populated by foreigners.

This crackdown targeted sectors with significant social harm such as entertainment establishments, as well as industries encroaching on national jobs like parcel delivery and courier services. Fines were imposed on 1,701 illegal employers and 12 illegal employment brokers who were caught. Additionally, 9 people were arrested for refusing the crackdown or brokering illegal employment, and 24 are under investigation without detention.

Meanwhile, through the continuous illegal stay crackdown system that has been operating since early this year, the total number of reduced illegal stay foreigners, including those who departed or were deported, was counted at about 25,000 by April.

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, said, "The basic premise of a flexible immigration management policy is a strict and predictable stay order, so we will continue to strive to establish a strict stay order including crackdowns on illegal stay."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.