Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Korean court backs ministry's decision to revoke naturalization of Pakistani bigamist
This February 2022 file photo shows the Seoul Administrative Court building in southern Seoul. The court recently ruled in favor of the Ministry of Justice over its decision to denaturalize a Pakistani man who fraudulently obtained Korean citizenship through marriage. Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki
By Jung Min-ho
A court in Seoul has ruled in favor of the Ministry of Justice over its decision to denaturalize a Pakistani man who fraudulently obtained his Korean citizenship through marriage.
According to court officials on Sunday, the Seoul Administrative Court on May 9 dismissed a complaint by the man who was challenging the ministry's decision to revoke his citizenship over bigamy, the act of entering into a marriage while still legally married to someone else.
Bigamy is not permitted in Korea.
The man and his Korean wife registered their marriage in both countries in July 2001.
Then, in January 2003, he married a Pakistani woman in Pakistan, where polygamy is legally permissible for Muslim men. The couple had four children.
Seven years later, he applied for naturalization in Korea without revealing his marital status in Pakistan in the documents he submitted to the ministry. As the spouse of a Korean citizen, the legal process for him was relatively fast and uncomplicated. In July 2012, he became a naturalized citizen.
Four years later, the man divorced his Korean spouse before bringing his Pakistani wife and children to Korea the following year.
After belatedly becoming aware of the omission from the man's naturalization application, the ministry launched an investigation into the case and decided to revoke his citizenship in June 2023. Under the Nationality Act, those who procured naturalization with false documents are subject to revocation of their status.
A panel of judges, led by Ko Eun-seol, concluded that the man deliberately hid his marital status in Pakistan in his submission to the ministry and that the relevant officials would have rejected his application if they had known of his dual marriage status.
"The Constitution states, 'Marriage and family life shall be entered into and sustained on the basis of individual dignity and equality of both sexes, and the state shall do everything in its power to achieve that goal.' This naturally includes monogamy," the court said. "Bigamy is a grave violation of Korea's rule of law."
The court said the man did not reveal that he had another family in Pakistan because he was apparently aware that doing so would affect the ministry's decision over his naturalization.
On May 30, the man brought the case to an appeals court.