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 foreign nationals living here illegally returned to their countries under the program in 2022, an official told The Korea Times. Yonhap

Justice ministry plans to tighten up on illegal stays as pandemic rules ease

By Jung Min-ho

More than 32,000 foreign nationals living undocumented in Korea left the country last year under a special amnesty program.

Speaking to The Korea Times recently, a Justice Ministry official said 32,026 undocumented foreign residents ― about 8 percent of the estimated 410,000 undocumented 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 it at a manageable level, the ministry ran the program extensively in 2022 ― between January and June as well as 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 have voluntarily left Korea under the program have been exempted from paying fines ― up to 30 million won ($24,000) ― and will be allowed to return here.

The goal of the amnesty is to reduce the burden on immigration officials, who are struggling with the pace of the increase 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, it plans to tighten up on illegal stays, the official said.

The statement comes amid growing calls to strengthen law enforcement. 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 under 180,000.

Earlier this week, Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party called on the ministry to look over its checking system after the revelation that more than 150 foreign visitors who had entered Korea via Yangyang International Airport through a visa waiver program fell out of contact over the last six months.

Such news has raised concerns for 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 $1000 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 work 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 handle migrant-related policies comprehensively. When asked when it will be launched, the ministry said in a statement that the details such as its size and specific roles will be announced by the end of June.