Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon attends Cabinet meeting at the government complex in in Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

By Lee Hae-rin

The Ministry of Justice announced a plan to crack down on undocumented foreign residents for two months, starting next Tuesday.

The ministry will team up with the Korean National Police Agency, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Coast Guard to conduct the crackdown between Oct. 11 and Dec. 10, it said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry has been focused on preventing and managing the spread of the virus among undocumented foreigners in the country. However, the recent increase in the number of undocumented immigrants has led the government to return to a hardline stance, the ministry said.

Primary targets include illegal immigrants working in delivery services, massage parlors and drug rings. Some crime-prone areas will also be subject to police patrols.

The ministry said it will acquire search and seizure warrants to deal with those who refuse to comply without legitimate reasons. Since the ministry's amendment of human rights guidelines in investigating immigrants on Aug. 1, it needs to obtain a person's informed consent before a search can begin ― the ministry official must reveal his or her name, affiliation and the purpose of the check on a foreigner. This is due to a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to include an agreement procedure when investigating.

Those in violation of the relevant laws will be deported and banned from entering Korea again for a certain period of time.

Minister Han said that the consistent and principled crackdown on illegal immigrants will be continued. "The establishment of clear rules for legal stay is the basis of a flexible immigration policy that is in the national interest," he said.

According to the ministry, the rate of illegal immigrants among the foreign community in Korea went up slightly from 19.3 percent in 2020 to 19.9 percent in 2021.