Making a Refugee Claim in the Republic of Korea

A refugee is someone who leaves his or her country to stay in a foreign land because they have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social status and they cannot or do not wish to return home or are afraid to do so.

( Renowned american actress, Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special Envoy, visits refugee in Afghanistan)

 

The Republic of Korea first introduced its refugee recognition system by joining the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 (hereinafter known as the “Refugee Convention”) in 1992, and it had inserted provisions for the refugee recognition in its already-existing Immigration Control Act in June, 1994. On July, 1, 2013, the new Refugee Act of the Republic of Korea came into effect and it is the very first independent refugee law legislated at the national level among the Asian countries, and thus it has significant implication for protecting asylum seeker's rights in Asia.

 

Korea's Refugee Recognition Procedure

 

1. Application for Refugee Status

 Claiming Refugee Status from Within Korea

Foreigners in the Republic of Korea who wish to be recognized as refugees may apply for refugee status to the Minister of Justice by submitting her/his refugee status application to the Chief of an Immigration Office, Head of an Immigration Branch Office or Director of an Immigration Processing Center. When applying, the refugee claimant must provide his/her passport or alien registration card(if neither is available, a statement explaining the reasons) and supplementary information, if available. A refugee status applicants are allowed to stay in the Republic of Korea until the determination of his/her refugee status becomes final.

(if an administrative appeal or litigation concerning the denial of his/her refugee status is ongoing, until the proceeding concludes.)

 

Claiming Refugee Status at the Port of Entry

A foreign national can claim refugee status as soon as he or she arrives at a Korean port of entry by submitting the refugee status application form to the respective Office Chief or Branch Head with jurisdiction over the port of entry in accordance with the Immigration Control Act and the Office Chief or Branch Head may restrict the applicant to stay at a designated location within the port of entry for up to seven days. The Minister of Justice shall decide within seven days of the submission of a refugee status application whether to refer the application to the refugee status determination procedure and if he fails to decide within the period, the applicant's entry into the country shall be permitted.

 

2. Interview and Investigation

 

Interview by Immigration Officers

After as a refugee status applicant submits his or her application with required documents, the officers of the Local Immigration Services will call the applicant for an interview. Under the Refugee Act, the applicant has the right to receive the assistance of an interpreter and a attorney and also to request the presence of a trusted individual during the interview. An interpreter will be appointed for the applicant by the Minister of Justice, but, if the applicant finds them unreliable, he or she may appoint his or her own interpreter. A refugee status applicant has the right to request that the interview be recorded or videotaped, and when the applicant requests, the chief or head who is in charge may not refuse the request.

 

Investigation by Immigration Officers

Immigration officers may investigate and evaluate all relevant information to assess the validity of any evidence and the credibility of the applicant's statements. The head of immigration office with jurisdiction will report the inspection results to the Minister of Justice for a final review. 

3. Recognition of Refugee Status

 

The Minister of Justice approves the refugee status, he issues the Certificate of Refugee Recognition to the applicant and if he decides that the applicant is not a refugee, he or she shall issue a Notice of Denial with the reasons of it and information including that the applicant may appeal within thirty days. The applicant who is recognized as refugee may have the status of resident(F-2-2 visa, resident status with unlimited work permit), and may obtain the Refugee Travel Document upon request, which is equivalent to passport.

 

 

 

4. Appeal and Administrative Litigation

 

Foreigners whose refugee claim is disapproved may appeal to the Minister of Justice within 30 days from the date on which the decision was received. If refugee recognition is disapproved again after the appeal, the applicant may apply for an administrative litigation at the Administrative Court within 90 days from the date on which the notice of disapproval was received(the applicant may apply for an administrative litigation immediately after the initial disapproval to the refugee status.)

 

5. Treatment of Recognized Refugees and Refugee Status Applicants

 

An recognized refugee who is staying in the Republic of Korea shall be provided social security and primary and secondary education at the same level as that of Korean nationals.The Minister of Justice shall give any spouse or minor children of a recognized refugee permission to enter into the Republic of Korea upon request, provided that the relevant article of the Immigration Control Act does not apply.

 

* Refugee status applicants are also provided with a certain level of provisions as long as they stay in the Republic of Korea for being recognized as refugee. The Minister of Justice may permit a refugee status applicant to engage in wage-earning employment six months after the date on which the refugee application was received.

Beware, you can be sued for using photographs on the web!

You might type some word on any search site like google, and the search result would present you with tons of images matching the word. Once you pick some perfect photo fitting your purpose, it is not so difficult to save it for your webpage use - right clicking that image and putting it on your web. You might assume that anyone who owns the original image allows you to freely use the image as long as he or she allows you to right-clicking it. But it is not true at all. Basically, all images on the web, like text, are protected by copyright law. So, if you copy and save an image without permission, whether it allows you to right click it or not, you are probably violating copyright law and there is a good possibility that you might get sued for the copyright violation.

 

Copyright law of the Republic of Korea is regulated by the Copyright Act of 1957. The act has been amended several times, with the most recent revision which has been enforced from July 23, 2009.

 

Works by foreigners are also protected under the Copyright Act if a foreigner has his or her habitual residence in the Republic of Korea and his or her works are first published in the Republic of Korea.

 

Article 3 (Works by Foreigners) of the Copyright Act of the ROK

(2) The works by foreigners who have their habitual residence in the Republic of Korea (including stateless persons and the foreign legal persons having their principal office in the Republic of Korea) and foreigners’ works which are first published in the Republic of Korea (including works published in the Republic of Korea within thirty days after their publication in a foreign country) shall be protected under this Act.

 

 

Images and photos on the web are subjected under the protection of the act as it is stated in Item 6 of Para. 1 of Art. 4 of the act. The rights of the creator or author of an image or a photo to reproduce, exhibit, distribute, produce and exploit a derivative work based on his original work are protected under the Copyright Act. If anyone other than the creator or author of an image on the web uses the image without permission, he or she is probably violating copyright and can be liable for the damages if the owner of rights above claims them.

 

Article 4 (Examples of Works, Etc.) of the Copyright Act of the ROK

(1) The following shall be the examples of works referred to in this Act:

6. Photographic works (including other works produced by similar methods);

 

Article 125 (Claim for Damages) of the Copyright Act of the ROK

(1) Where the owner of author’s property rights or other rights (excluding author’s and performer’s moral rights) protected under this Act (hereinafter referred to as “owner of author’s property rights, etc.”) claims compensation for damages that he sustained by the act of infringement from a person who has infringed on his rights intentionally or negligently, the amount of gain shall be presumed to be the amount of damages that the owner of author’s property rights, etc. sustained, if the infringer has made a gain by his act of infringement.

 

Article 37 of the act states concerning ‘indication of sources’ but it is only applicable when a person uses a work legally appropriate according to the act such as using with the author’s permission.

 

Article 37 (Indication of Sources) of the Copyright Act of the ROK

(1) A person who uses a work pursuant to this Subsection shall indicate its sources, except the cases as prescribed under Articles 26, 29 to 32, or 34.

(2) The indication of the sources shall be made clearly in a manner and to the extent deemed reasonable in the situation in which the work is used. If the real name or pseudonym of the author of a work is indicated, such real name or pseudonym shall be indicated.

 

So far, you’ve briefly learned about how the Copyright Act of the ROK protects the copyright of images and photos on the web. So, from now on do not just right click copy/save an image on the internet, before you get permission from the author. And also remember that indicating the source of a photo or an image can not exempt you from the liability unless you have the permission of the owner. If you unfortunately get involved with the lawsuit due to the ignorant illegal use of an image on the web, it is always better and safe for you to get a legal professional’s help before the suit becomes more damageable to you.

 

 

 

 

 

What you should do when your spouse or ex-spouse take your child abroad

Marriages between a Korean national and a foreign national have been rapidly increasing in the Republic of Korea, and among the problems related with the international marriages, parental child abduction is probably the most destructive one to both the parents and the child.

 

The Republic of Korea in December 13, 2012, acceded to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction(“Hague Abduction Convention”), and on the March 1, 2013, the convention came into force in the ROK.

(A photo from an article of 'Stars and Stripes' Published: May 22, 2013 Two Canadian men holding a sign during a demonstration in August 2011 in Tokyo advocating dual custody rights for divorced parents in Japan.)

 

The Hague Abduction Convention states a child must be returned to their habitual residence and that a parent who abducts their child to another state is guilty of illegal acts and it provides an efficient method for the quick and safe return of children who have been internationally abducted by a parent from their country of habitual residence. The Convention applies only to children under the age of sixteen years.

 

Under the Child Abduction Convention, a foreign spouse of one of the contracting nation of the Convention can make application to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea for the assistance in the return of a child who was abducted to South Korea. The Seoul Family Court has the exclusive jurisdiction in cases asserting the return of the child pursuant to the Convention. The court may issue a preliminary injunction or dismiss the application when the application was made after one year from the abduction. When one or more years have already passed after the abduction the child has already adjusted herself/himself into the current environment so the court may grant custody of the child to the abducting parent. If a person does not comply with the court decision of child return, he or she is subject to a fine up to 10,000,000 KRW and/or up to 30-day detention.

Alien Registration Card

 

If you are a foreigner who wants to stay in the Republic of Korea for more than ninety days, you must apply for an Alien Registration Card(ARC) from the Seoul immigration office. And the registration must be done within 90 days of arriving in the ROK.

 

( photos of ARC from KOMSCO(한국조폐공사))

 

Before you visit the immigration office to apply for your ARC you need to prepare:

• Application Form,
• Passport,
• Korean address,
• 1 Passport sized photo,
• 10,000 won fee(Purchase of the Government Revenue Stamp)

 

ARC serves as an official identification of a foreign resident in the ROK. Any foreigner working in the ROK is required to obtain ARC and carry it with them at all times.

 

Any change in ARC must be reported to the immigration office within 14 days from its occurrence. Not reporting the changes in ARC is considered to be a breach of immigration act, and fines will be imposed for the breach.

 

The validity period of ARC is one year, and a registered foreigner can renew ARC for another year before the expiry date.

 

THE SPECIAL ADOPTION ACT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

                     

( Actress Angelina Jolie and Actor Brad Pitt with their adopted children) 

The Special Adoption Act went into effect on August, 5, 2012. This law governs inter-country adoption in South Korea. Among all the changes brought by the Special Adoption Act, the most significant change in inter-country adoption in the ROK is that now each inter-country adoption in ROK must receive the approval from the ROK Family court. Adoption agencies work through the Family court accompanied with the emigration permit(EP).

 

Under the Special Adoption Act, the first inter-country adoption was granted for the ‘Hall’ couple from Sweden on April 23, 2013. The adoption agency applied for the couple’s adoption of the child in January 2012. The Hall couple were summoned to the court to be interviewed in April, 2013 and the court finally granted the couple to adopt one-year-old boy.

 

Since the changes in the adoption act in the ROK, inter-country adoption takes more time then it did before and also requires appropriate legal counsels and aids. Now adoption in the ROK always includes rather complicated process in the court, it would be safe and better for the foreigners who want to adopt a child in ROK to get legal advice and help from attorney specializing in adoption. 

Stay in the Republic of Korea

If you come and stay in the Republic of Korea for more than a year, you might need to rent a house for the period. Renting a house in the Republic of Korea can be an interesting process for you because you will find the housing rental system in Korea quite different than in your home country. There are broadly two types of rental agreement in Korea; Jeonse(전세, 全貰), Wolse(월세, 月貰). 

Jeonse(전세, 全貰) involves a large sum of deposit money(보증금, 保證金) which is up to 30-70% of the property value(the amount of a Jeonse deposit varies mostly based on the area). Once a renter pays the deposit to a landlord there is no more monthly rent needed to be paid. When the lease is up, a landlord must return the deposit in full to a renter. This is financially very advantageous to tenants so many Koreans prefer to make this agreement with their landlord if they can afford a deposit. But Jeonse can also be risky especially considering Korea’s economy today. A landlord might take out loans and default, and then a tenant might have troubles getting his/her deposit money back in full. So it is very important to check in advance whether there are no unpaid loans on the property before you make the agreement. Typically a Jeonse contract period ranges from 2-3 years, and if a tenant wants to leave earlier than the contract period, he/she is expected to find another renter who will pay a deposit. 

Wolse(월세, 月貰) is similar to the Western rental agreement in which a renter only pays a monthly rental fee to a landlord without putting down a deposit. However, in Korea, it is very common that a renter pays a deposit to the landlord and still pays a monthly rent too. Instead, the Wolse deposit money is significantly less than a Jeonse deposit. Under Wolse agreement, like Jeonse, once the lease is over, a landlord returns the deposit in full to a renter. But in the case that a renter fails to pay a monthly rental fee during the lease, a landlord has the right to deduct the amount of the unpaid monthly rent from the deposit, and return the remaining deposit to the renter. 

In Korea, the Housing Lease Protection Act(주택임대차보호법, 主宅任代借保護法) was enacted in 1981 to secure residential stability and a tenant needs to learn about some of the Act’s essential provisions to protect his or her rights as a tenant in certain conditions. Among such provisions, ‘opposing power’ and ‘lease registrations command system’ are very practical in many situations. To have an ‘opposing power’ that gives you the power to claim the property over lenders claiming the property, a tenant need to show proof that he/she has occupied the property and he or she registers his/her location with the local government. If a tenant fails to receive the deposit back after the termination of lease, he or she can use ‘lease registrations command’ system. You can deal with above legal matters on your own by searching for the related law, but it is always better and safe that you contact a lawyer and get legal aid concerning the matter before you enter into any Jeonse or Wolse contract in Korea.