This week, on 19 and 20 October, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) will consider the fifth periodic report of the Republic of Korea. Amongst various concerns, numerous NGOs–including the GDP’s partner, the Association for Public Interest Law–have called on the committee to examine the country’s immigration detention practices and policies. Concerns include the detention […]
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Republic of Korea: Indefinite Detention Without Due Process Guarantees Ruled Unconstitutional
In an important ruling, the Republic of Korea’s Constitutional Court has found that the country’s policy of indefinitely detaining migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers without due process guarantees is unconstitutional. […]
Immigration Detention in the Republic of Korea: Penalising People in Need of Protection
Over the last two decades, South Korea has implemented increasingly restrictive asylum and migrant worker policies. Although the government does not provide adequate data about immigration detention, making it challenging to assess trends in the country, observers have reported that in recent years this crackdown has grown in scale and intensity. Children, victims of trafficking, and other vulnerable groups can be subjected to indefinite detention, often in facilities where detainees have reported instances of abuse; asylum seekers can find themselves stranded for months in privately operated airport “holding areas”; and national and international human rights bodies have repeatedly called for reforms in the country’s immigration detention centres. […]
Republic of Korea (South Korea) Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Republic of Korea (South Korea) Detention Data (2020) The latest detention-related data from Republic of Korea (South Korea), including immigration and detention-related statistics, domestic laws and policies, international law, and institutional indicators. View the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Detention Data Profile Related Reading: Republic of Korea (South Korea): Country Page Immigration Detention in the […]
Republic of Korea (South Korea): Covid-19 and Detention
As of the end of 2019, there were an estimated 360,000 undocumented foreign nationals living in South Korea. Amidst fears that they would not seek testing and treatment for fear of being arrested, in late January South Korean authorities announced that they were scrapping the requirement for medical staff to report undocumented migrant patients to […]
Republic of Korea (South Korea): Covid-19 and Detention
The Republic of Korea took aggressive action early on in the Covid-19 outbreak to limit the progress of the coronavirus, including adopting strict border control and immigration detention measures. On 1 April, the government adopted a rule that requires all overseas arrivals—including South Koreans—to quarantine at home or at government-designated facilities for two weeks. Reports […]
NEWSLETTER: Penalising People in Need, from Korea to the Caribbean to the Netherlands
OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS Immigration Detention in the Republic of Korea: Penalising People in Need of Protection Over the last two decades, South Korea has implemented increasingly restrictive asylum and migrant worker policies. The government does not provide adequate data about detention, making it challenging to assess trends in the country, but observers report that this […]
