Court calls rejection of permanent residency for alcohol sales 'unfair'
Ministry of Justice. Yonhap
By Lee Suh-yoon
A Seoul court ruled Monday that it was unjust for the immigration authorities to deny permanent residency status to a Chinese migrant only because he had a record of selling alcohol illegally which occurred due to his ignorance of regulations.
The man, who settled here in 2015, applied for permanent residency in 2016. Two years later, the justice ministry rejected his application for “bad conduct,” pointing to his 2017 record of illegally selling alcohol inside a karaoke bar in the Guro district of Seoul.
The Korean citizenship law specifies “good conduct” and a good grasp of the Korean language and culture as pre-conditions to being accepted as a permanent resident.
At the time of the problematic sale, the man was in charge of running the karaoke for his middle school friend who needed someone to step in for a few days. At his friend's order, the man sold 16,000 won ($14) worth of alcohol, not knowing it was illegal to sell it at a karaoke bar, according to his testimony.
The prosecution at the time suspended indicting him, because the violation was minor and it accepted his testimony.
Monday's court also sided with him, concluding there was no criminal thought or intent in the action to discredit his moral character.
“Testimonies and the fact the accused was working briefly without pay shows his behavior was due to ignorance of the law or a mistake, rather than due to unlawful intent,” Judge Kim Jung-joong of the Seoul Administrative Court said. “Therefore, we can't conclude the accused lacks the disposition and behavioral traits required from a citizen.”
Many ethnic Koreans with foreign passports can apply for an F5 permanent residency visa if they want to permanently settle here.
“Even if we recognize the justice ministry's authority in allowing or rejecting permanent residency, turning down an application due to this one event is overly harsh,” Kim added.