Republic of Korea: Penalties for illegal exit; treatment of returnees, including unsuccessful asylum claimants; application of exit laws to persons holding valid Seaman's Passports, including shipjumpers
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 11 January 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | KOR36116.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Republic of Korea: Penalties for illegal exit; treatment of returnees, including unsuccessful asylum claimants; application of exit laws to persons holding valid Seaman's Passports, including shipjumpers, 11 January 2001, KOR36116.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be587.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No references to penalties for illegal exit for citizens of the Republic of Korea could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. According to Article 3 of the Immigration Control Act (1994) of the Republic of Korea:
Departure of National from Korea
(1) Any national who desires to depart from the Republic of Korea to an area outside the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as "departure from country"), holds a valid passport or seaman's pocketbook and undergoes a departure inspection conducted by the immigration control official at the immigration port from which he is to depart: Provided, That if it is impossible to depart from the immigration port by any inevitable reason, he may depart after undergoing the departure inspection conducted by an immigration control official at a place other than the immigration port with a permission of the head of the competent immigration control office (hereinafter referred to as "head of office") or the head of the competent branch office of immigration control office (hereinafter referred to as "head of branch office").
(2) When the national has undergone the inspection as referred to in Paragraph (1), he shall hold an effective entry visa given by the country of destination or transit, except in the case where he departs to a country in which he may be exempted from the entry visa under an agreement between the Republic of Korea and the country concerned, or the immigration control official recognizes that such visa is not required.
No information concerning the treatment of returned unsuccessful asylum claimants could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
With respect to the application of Korea exit laws to persons holding valid Seaman's Passports, including shipjumpers, the relevant legislation is the Act for the Prevention of Stowing Away, (Embassy of Australia, Seoul 19 July 1996). According to the Act:
Article 2
The phrases "leaving the ship" and "leaving the aircraft" mean desertion from a ship or aircraft without permission, or failure to return within the time specified by either the captain or the person in charge of the ship or the aircraft.
Article 3
A person who smuggles himself on or deserts a ship or an aircraft shall be punished by penal servitude for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding three million won (C$3500).
According to a letter sent to the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal by the Federation of Korean Seafarer's Unions, Korean sailors who return to Korea having left the ship without permission may be "investigated at a Korean police station under the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the cooperation of the Immigration Authority under the Ministry of Law" (26 Aug. 1996). However, the letter further states:
[I]f the incident is not a case of stowaway and it turns out that the Korean seafarer returns to Korea over grievances of unfair practices or differences in working agreement and such matter is confirmed by a foreign consul, there seems to be no particular problem at present. Considerations will be given on how many days the seafarer stayed in a foreign country, or if the master unjustly refused to issue a written permission for the seafarer to leave the vessel or any such similar situation aboard the vessel. ...
A case of stowaway or ship desertion is investigated by the police under the Ministry of Home Affairs. In case he is found to have violated the law, he is arrested. (up to now, a 3-month prison term has been meted out to a seafarer who has deserted his ship. At present, if a seafarer returns home after obtaining a written confirmation from a consulate, no particular punishment is meted out to him) (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Embassy of Australia, Seoul. 19 July 1996. Partial translation of the Act for the Prevention of Stowing Away.
Federation of Korean Seafarer's Unions. 26 August 1996. Letter sent to Australian Refugee Review Tribunal.
Republic of Korea. Immigration Control Act. 22 December 1994. Edited and published by the Korea Legislation Research Institute in Current Laws of the Republic of Korea.
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
World News Connection (WNC)
Internet sites, including:
International Transport Workers Federation
Korea Herald
Korean Government Webpages
U.S. Committee for Refugees
