NHRC Issues Recommendation to Korean Consulate General in Shenyang to Issue Entry Visa
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a recommendation to the Korean Consulate General in Shenyang (Liaoning Province, China) to issue an entry visa to Mr. Ahn (30), an ethnic-Korean Chinese national. After Mr. Ahn, who had lived as man and wife with a Korean national had gone to China to file his marriage papers and was denied re-entry to Korea twice by the Korean Consulate General in Shenyang for reason that the consulate doubted the authenticity of his international marriage, Mr. Ahn’s wife, Ms. Kim (32) filed a petition against the Korean Consulate General in Shenyang to the NHRC in May 2004 charging that 「denying a visa to my husband, husband in reality and by law, is unjust.」
The NHRC investigation found that Mr. Ahn had first entered Korea in December 1994 and began living with Ms. Ahn as husband and wife in April 1999, and the couple had children. In May 2002, Mr. Ahn turned himself in to the government as an undocumented alien, and in order to file his marriage papers in China, left Korea on 3 January 2003. However, the Korean Consulate in Shenyang refused Mr. Ahn re-entry permission.
To address the possibility that Mr. Ahn may have married Ms. Kim solely to gain entry status to Korea, the NHRC investigation team also interviewed persons who knew the couple and found that: the two had lived together as a married couple, the two were married to one another by law, and the two were committed to staying married.
Further, considering that in order to register his marriage, Mr. Ahn voluntarily reported himself to the authorities as an undocumented alien and went to China, the Korean Consulate in Shenyang’s denial of visa runs contrary to the Korean Constitution, international human rights conventions and the spirit of humanitarianism.
Article 36: clause 1 of the Korean Constitution stipulates: 「Marriage and family life are entered into and sustained on the basis of individual dignity and equality of the sexes, and the State must do everything in its power to achieve that goal.」 Additionally, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights holds, 「the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State (ICCPR, article 23:1)」 while the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights clearly points to the state’s obligation to protect the family: 「The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family… particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children (ICESCR, article 10:1),」 thus laying emphasis on the state’s duty to protect the family. Further, article 3: clauses 2 and 3 of the Child Welfare Act stipulates that children should have the opportunity to grow up in a stable family environment so they can develop a whole and non-conflicted personality, and that in all activities concerning children, the interest of the child shall be preferentially considered. In such light, the NHRC issued the recommendation to the Korean Consulate to allow Mr. Ahn to reunite with his family. –End.
