By Nam Hyun-woo
National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said Monday that it recommended the Minister of Justice to make a new article in the Immigration Control Law to prevent children of illegally migrated families from being deported alone.
The NHRCK move came after a 17-year-old student, surnamed Kim born in Mongolia, was deported alone to Mongolia on Oct. 5 2011 four days after police found Kim had illegally stayed here. Police sent Kim to the Seoul Immigration Office and he was expelled four days later.
Kim’s parents are reportedly staying here illegally and only Kim was caught by police.
Schools in Korea allow every student with documentation that proves their residence here to study in their schools. Immigration registration is not required to be admitted in schools, according to an NHRCK official.
Human rights advocators have criticized that Kim’s deportation is violating United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states a migrated child’s rights to be educated.
NHRCK investigated Kim’s case and found that the immigration office has not considered who will offer protection after he was sent to Mongolia in post deportation measures. The office also neglected to inform Kim’s school teacher that it has Kim’s custody.
According to the human rights watchdog, Korea’s immigration law has no regulation to allow illegally migrated children, like Kim, to stay here. Child-alone deportation cases can occur again, an official at NHRCK said.
“The NHRCK has advised the minister, who charges immigration law, to come up with measures to prevent such children from being deported alone, which is against the U.N. convention,” she said.