Human Rights Commission: "Forced Deportation Must Be Notified with Entry Restriction Documents"…Expresses Opinion to Ministry of Justice

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has expressed the opinion that when national funds are used in the process of enforcing the deportation of a foreigner and the period of entry ban is extended, the individual concerned must be clearly notified of this fact in writing or other documents.

On the 13th, the NHRCK announced that it conveyed to the Minister of Justice the opinion that "regulations should be supplemented to establish guidelines equivalent to the Administrative Procedures Act, such as issuing a notification containing this information to the individual concerned," regarding cases where national funds were used in the enforcement of a foreigner's deportation and the entry restriction period was extended.

According to a petition submitted to the NHRCK, foreigner A had their entry restriction period extended from 5 years to 10 years because national funds were used to pay for the airfare during the deportation process in Korea. Under the Immigration Control Act, deportation is generally at the individual's own expense.

A claimed that this explanation was conveyed verbally rather than in writing during the deportation enforcement process, and that although they later attempted to reimburse the national funds, the authorities refused to issue a visa. Due to the extension of the entry restriction period, A is currently unable to meet family members residing in Korea.

The Supreme Court ruled that "matters related to foreigner immigration are not subject to the Administrative Procedures Act, and notification of the extension of the entry restriction period does not constitute a disposition subject to appeal."

However, the NHRCK considered it difficult to conclude that disadvantages arising during the deportation enforcement process are matters that do not require administrative procedures. Furthermore, it pointed out that verbal communication by immigration authorities may not be properly conveyed to foreigners who do not clearly understand the matter due to language barriers.

The NHRCK emphasized, "Verbal communication has the limitation of being a one-time occurrence, and foreigners may not clearly understand due to linguistic and cultural reasons. When forcibly deporting, the individual concerned should be sufficiently informed of potential disadvantages and their grounds so that they can respond appropriately."

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