Uijeongbu District Court. (Song Sang-ho/Hankyoreh)
A Korean court has overturned immigration authorities’ decision to deny a Sri Lankan national an extension of his stay over a traffic fine, ruling that the authorities acted unlawfully by failing to adequately consider the circumstances of the accident that led to the fine, his employment history and the impact the decision would have on his livelihood.According to a ruling obtained by the Hankyoreh on Tuesday, the Uijeongbu District Court recently canceled the decision by the Yangju Immigration Office to deny the individual’s application for an extension of his stay.The Sri Lankan national first entered South Korea in May 2018. He left the country in February 2023 and returned in June that year. In October, he obtained an E-7-4 visa for skilled workers and began working for a furniture manufacturer in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.In February 2024, he was driving a truck when he ran a red light and collided with another vehicle. The other driver suffered injuries requiring two weeks of treatment. In October that year, a court issued a summary order imposing a fine of 1 million won (US$730).That led the Yangju Immigration Office to deny his application for an extension of his stay, which he had filed that August, citing an internal guideline that restricts extensions for foreigners fined 1 million won or more.The court, however, emphasized that the accident was not intentional and that the fine was the minimum amount triggering the restriction under the guideline. It also took into account the purpose of the skilled worker visa program, the worker’s employment record and requests from his colleagues for leniency.The court further criticized immigration authorities for failing to sufficiently consider the difficulties the worker would face if his stay were not extended.“The decision says to look not just at the amount of the fine, but the circumstances, the work history and the effect that [denying an extension of stay] would have on a person’s livelihood,” said Han Byung-chul, the attorney who represented the worker in the case. “What makes this significant is that a worker who was facing the possibility of having to leave Korea was given a chance to have his situation properly considered, and ultimately, a chance to stay and protect his life here,” Han said. By Song Sang-ho, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
