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Prosecutors criticized for delay in Hanshin University deportation probe
Hanshin University students hold a rally at the university’s Osan campus in Gyeonggi Province condemning the forced deportation of Uzbek students, June 5, 2024. Courtesy of Kim So-hwi
By Park Ung
After 20 months without indictments, Uzbek victims say justice is being denied
Nearly two years after Hanshin University officials were accused of forcing more than 20 Uzbek students onto a bus bound for the airport, a criminal investigation into the case has stalled at the prosecutor’s office, drawing sharp rebukes from advocates and those at the center of the case over the inquiry’s protracted pace.
The case has exposed gaps in how Korea protects the rights of international students, with Hanshin University students and lawyers warning that prolonged prosecutorial delays have left victims in a legal limbo.
In November 2023, Hanshin University put 23 Uzbek students enrolled in its Korean language institute on a bus after telling them they were going to an immigration office to receive their residence cards. The school is a private four-year university with campuses in Osan, Gyeonggi Province and Seoul.
Instead, the bus took them to Incheon International Airport, accompanied by staff from a private security firm. There, 22 of the students — except for one who was unwell — were forced to return to Uzbekistan, a move the university said was due to the students' failure to meet residency requirements.
The students, however, held D-4 visas for long-term language study, which would have allowed them to remain in Korea through December 2023, provided they met the residency requirements.
Hanshin University later said it sent the students back to Uzbekistan, citing their failure to meet the visa requirement of maintaining a bank balance of at least 10 million won ($7,014).
In 2024, police referred three university staff members to prosecutors for charges including unlawful confinement and coercion, along with a Ministry of Justice immigration official accused of repeatedly accepting hospitality from university officials.
Shokirova Oydinoy, a 23-year-old Uzbek victim, requested this week that a review panel be convened to assess the prosecution’s investigation, saying the probe has moved too slowly.
“We were so shocked and didn’t know why this was happening. I kept crying at the airport,” Shokirova told The Korea Times. “I was under intense stress and asked to speak with my husband, but officials insisted I leave immediately.”
On Wednesday, Hanshin University students submitted a petition to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, which is handling the case, calling for a swift investigation and strict punishment for those responsible.
Hanshin University students hold a press conference calling for a swift investigation into the forced deportation of Uzbek students in front of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Newsis
The petition, signed by 635 people, accused the university of trying to forcibly return students based on a belief that they would overstay their visas, even though it could have recommended voluntary departure.
“Nothing has changed in the one year and eight months since the case was sent to prosecutors,” said Kim So-hwi, a 25-year-old theology major who filed the petition on behalf of the students.
Kim added that the university has yet to offer concrete measures to prevent a recurrence or a sincere apology.
Choi Jung-kyu, a lawyer representing the Uzbek victims, told The Korea Times that the prosecution’s slow pace is difficult to justify.
“The police completed their investigation in six months and forwarded the case with a recommendation for indictment, but prosecutors have taken three times as long,” Choi said, adding that no clear explanation has been offered and that prosecutors have not properly heard from the victims.
Choi added that without a decision on whether to indict, victims face hurdles in filing civil lawsuits, undermining their ability to seek damages.
The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said the delay reflects a thorough review of the case, including requests for supplementary police investigations. It added that prosecutors will decide as soon as possible whether to indict and have tried to hear from the victims.
Hanshin University said it had no comment on Wednesday’s student petition but would fully cooperate with investigators if requested.
It added that the university president apologized over the forced deportation incident at the time, and that 15 students later returned to the university under a special readmission program and completed the language institute's course.