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By Jun Ji-hye
A Korean lawyer has received a suspended jail term for falsifying information in refugee applications for 184 Chinese nationals, the Supreme Court said, Monday.
The top court rejected the lawyer's appeal and upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced him to a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, for violating the Immigration Control Act.
It also confirmed a 5 million won (4,600) fine imposed on a law firm for which the lawyer, identified only by his surname Kang, was working.
According to the court verdict, Kang helped 184 Chinese people, who were seeking to continue working in Korea, apply for refugee status by forging relevant documents from October 2016 to December 2017, in return for 2 million won to 3 million won per case.
A broker connected the lawyer with the applicants.
In the applications, the lawyer fabricated various stories to support the refugee status applications, including assertions that the applicants would suffer oppression in China for being part of minor religious groups such as Falun Gong.
The lawyer also employed an undocumented Chinese person as an interpreter at his law firm from Feb. 1 to 16 in 2017.
The court said the lawyer abused immigration-related laws to help the applicants extend their sojourn, as they submitted refugee applications based on false pretenses in order to be granted a G-1 humanitarian status visa, thus enabling them to pursue employment opportunities here for an extended period.
Applicants, even if ultimately rejected, may remain in Korea for an additional two to three years and continue working during the appeal proceedings period.
After a district court handed down the suspended jail term, Kang appealed the sentence. The appellate court and the Supreme Court both rejected his appeal.
