By Kim Da-ye
A court has ruled in favor of two foreigners whose applications for citizenship and visa extension were rejected by authorities for minor offenses in the past.
A 49-year-old Iranian filed a lawsuit against the immigration office after his application for visa extension was rejected last year because of a previous fine of 5 million won imposed on him two years ago for violating the country's Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
The man came to Korea in June 2004 and setup a travel agency to arrange trips to the Middle East in 2010.
While organizing a pilgrimage trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he found that tourists to the kingdom were required to be vaccinated against meningitis. He therefore bought the vaccines from his friend in Germany and sold it to his customers in violation of the medical regulations.
He argued that at the time of doing so, he was unaware that doing so was illegal.
The Seoul Administrative Court in its ruling, cited his ignorance of the country's law at the time of committing the act as sufficient grounds for leniency.
He invested some 100 million won in 2011 into the company.
"The complainant has lived in Korea for some 10 years, and if he leaves the country, he will lose all his livelihood and financial foundation that he has maintained by running business here. Furthermore, his son, a high school student who came to Korea in 2008, will have to leave as well," the court said in its ruling.
The travel agency earned 1.29 million won in the first half of 2012, but the revenue grew to 24.26 million won between July and September 2013. He won a contract with major travel firm Hana Tour and awarded the best booth prize at an international tourism exhibition in Busan in 2013.
In a related case, the court asked the Ministry of Justice to revoke its decision to not grant citizenship to a Chinese national, identified as Xu, who came to Korea in 2000 and applied for naturalization in 2012.
His application was rejected in 2013 because the ministry found that he had been fined 700,000 won in 2006 for driving under the influence and that his proof of employment was fabricated.
In order to obtain Korean citizenship, the Nationality Act requires applicants to be "well-behaved."
The court said that Xu was punished for driving under the influence of alcohol six years before he applied for citizenship. The three judge panel presided by Lee Seung-taek added that the blood alcohol level "wasn't too high" at 0.073 percent, adding that his drunken state at the time of arrest did not result in any damages.
Regarding the employment record, the court ruled that although Xu closed down his business on paper in 2010, he should be considered its legitimate CEO because he was dealing with legal and tax-related issues until recently. Shortly after he arrived in Korea, Xu set up a company that imports and distributes agricultural products.
Furthermore, Xu proved his "capacity to maintain livelihood" with a deposit of more than 30 million won, so the employment record wasn't necessary, the court said.
A court has ruled in favor of two foreigners whose applications for citizenship and visa extension were rejected by authorities for minor offenses in the past.
A 49-year-old Iranian filed a lawsuit against the immigration office after his application for visa extension was rejected last year because of a previous fine of 5 million won imposed on him two years ago for violating the country's Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
The man came to Korea in June 2004 and setup a travel agency to arrange trips to the Middle East in 2010.
While organizing a pilgrimage trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he found that tourists to the kingdom were required to be vaccinated against meningitis. He therefore bought the vaccines from his friend in Germany and sold it to his customers in violation of the medical regulations.
He argued that at the time of doing so, he was unaware that doing so was illegal.
The Seoul Administrative Court in its ruling, cited his ignorance of the country's law at the time of committing the act as sufficient grounds for leniency.
He invested some 100 million won in 2011 into the company.
"The complainant has lived in Korea for some 10 years, and if he leaves the country, he will lose all his livelihood and financial foundation that he has maintained by running business here. Furthermore, his son, a high school student who came to Korea in 2008, will have to leave as well," the court said in its ruling.
The travel agency earned 1.29 million won in the first half of 2012, but the revenue grew to 24.26 million won between July and September 2013. He won a contract with major travel firm Hana Tour and awarded the best booth prize at an international tourism exhibition in Busan in 2013.
In a related case, the court asked the Ministry of Justice to revoke its decision to not grant citizenship to a Chinese national, identified as Xu, who came to Korea in 2000 and applied for naturalization in 2012.
His application was rejected in 2013 because the ministry found that he had been fined 700,000 won in 2006 for driving under the influence and that his proof of employment was fabricated.
In order to obtain Korean citizenship, the Nationality Act requires applicants to be "well-behaved."
The court said that Xu was punished for driving under the influence of alcohol six years before he applied for citizenship. The three judge panel presided by Lee Seung-taek added that the blood alcohol level "wasn't too high" at 0.073 percent, adding that his drunken state at the time of arrest did not result in any damages.
Regarding the employment record, the court ruled that although Xu closed down his business on paper in 2010, he should be considered its legitimate CEO because he was dealing with legal and tax-related issues until recently. Shortly after he arrived in Korea, Xu set up a company that imports and distributes agricultural products.
Furthermore, Xu proved his "capacity to maintain livelihood" with a deposit of more than 30 million won, so the employment record wasn't necessary, the court said.
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