hankyoreh

Gyeonggi Province

Detention Centers for foreign nationals are being run by the Ministry of Justice as detention centers with severe restrictions on physical freedom, critics are claiming.

The argument is that the facilities, which house many applicants for refugee status, are being operated effectively as jails or prisons.

The Korean Bar Association (KBA) announced the publication of a report on Feb. 23 over the findings of a study of Detention Centers for foreign nationals. The findings were based on on-site surveys conducted in 2014 on facilities in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, as well as the Office of Immigration in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. Participants in the survey included lawyers, interpreters, and employees with the United Nations Refugee Agency.

According to the KBA, the Detention Centers have become a blind spot for the warrant principle because protective custody of migrants is not recognized as incarceration. Five of six long-term foreign detainees surveyed said they were not presented with a protective order or emergency protection document by supervising public servants at the time they were taken into “protective custody,” as is required by the Immigration Control Act.

“In most cases, the foreigners do not know why they were taken into ‘protective custody’ at the time of their arrest,” the KBA said. “Often, they cannot even verify that the person ‘protecting’ them is a Korea Immigration Service employee.”

The Immigration Control Act permits one custody period extension every three months, but the surveys point to a lack of review procedures or hearings of the opinions of those involved. As a result, migrants who cannot be deported because of ongoing legal action to recognize them as refugees are instead having their detention periods indiscriminately prolonged.

In the case of the Hwaseong facility, 26 refugee status applicants were detained there between 2010 and 2013. The average length of detention was 314 days. Fifteen applicants were detained at the Cheongju facility for an average of 140 days over the same period; the five applicants in Yeoju were held for an average of 267 days.

“As of last year, the number of refugee status applicants had passed 2,000,” the KBA said. “A number of them have been held at facilities for as long as a year or more while their applications and lawsuits are being processed.”

The Ministry of Justice also included an opinion in the report.

“Office of Immigration employees provide Miranda right notifications in ten languages when international residents are arrested, and receive signatures after the issuance of emergency protective orders and protective orders,” it said. “The foreigners‘ accounts are contrary to the facts.”

By Lee Jae-uk, staff reporter

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