Bill targets deportation of drug, phishing offenders

An official displays mobile phones, routers and other equipment seized from an international voice phishing ring at a briefing room at Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, in this March 20, 2024 file photo. Newsis

A group of conservative legislators has introduced a bill that would allow the government to deport foreigners convicted of drug, sex or voice phishing offenses even if they don’t receive prison sentences.

The amendment to the Immigration Act, submitted on Thursday by Rep. Kim Tae-ho and 11 other lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party, seeks to expand the legal grounds for deportation beyond the current standard, which hinges on the imposition of a custodial sentence. Under existing law, foreign nationals can be ordered to leave only if they receive a prison sentence — including a suspended one — and that the decision is final.

“There has been criticism that the current requirement of ‘a sentence of imprisonment or heavier’ as a condition for deporting foreign offenders is excessively narrow,” the conservative party legislators said. “In particular, some people point out that the law should be amended so that foreign nationals can be deported even when they have not been given an actual prison sentence in cases involving sex crimes, drug offenses and voice phishing schemes that are considered as highly malicious and socially damaging.”

Under the new proposal, immigration officials would be empowered to deport any foreigner who receives a fine for specified offenses, including serious violent crimes, sex crimes, drug offenses and fraud tied to telecommunication-based financial scams.

According to data from the National Police Agency, more than 35,000 foreign nationals were booked as criminal suspects in 2024, the latest year available, up from about 29,000 in 2021. However, the data show that foreign nationals have consistently accounted for only about 2 percent of all criminal suspects in Korea, and the crime rate among foreigners is also lower than among Koreans on a per-capita basis.

In 2024, more than 35,000 non-Koreans were given deportation orders, largely for violating immigration law, according to Justice Ministry data.