Ministry of Justice to Establish "Immigrant Human Rights and Advocacy Team" to Strengthen Remedies for Foreigners' Rights

From Next Month Until May 31, 2029

The Ministry of Justice will establish a dedicated "Immigrant Human Rights and Advocacy Team" to prevent human rights violations against foreigners and to provide remedies for their rights.

On May 14, the Ministry of Justice announced that it has issued a legislative notice for the partial amendment to the "Enforcement Rule of the Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies," which includes this measure.

According to the amendment, the Ministry of Justice will set up the Immigrant Human Rights and Advocacy Team within its affiliated agency, the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters, starting from June 1, 2026, until May 31, 2029. This initiative aims to actively respond to potential human rights violations arising from the increasing number of foreign residents in Korea and to establish an effective system for rights protection. A total of five specialized personnel will be assigned to this team, which will serve as the control tower for policies to protect the human rights of foreigners.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice has decided to upgrade the positions of staff members in regions with frequent cruise ship arrivals, such as the Jeju Immigration and Foreigners Office, to enhance screening work and cooperation with related agencies (from grade 5 to grade 4 or 5).

The Ministry of Justice will also extend the existence of organizations utilizing the "total personnel cost system," which was introduced for efficient budget management.

First, the term of the "Drug Offenders Rehabilitation Team," which systematically supports the social reintegration of drug offenders, and the "Special Inspection Team," which strengthens investigative capabilities within correctional facilities, will be extended by two years until May 2028. In addition, the "Crime Prevention Digital Policy Team" and the "Foreigners' Information Big Data Team," which carry out data-driven scientific public safety policies, will also have their operations extended by two years until May 31, 2028.

The Ministry of Justice plans to collect opinions from the public and related agencies on this amendment until May 21, after which it will be implemented.

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