Ministry of Justice Accedes to NHRC Recommendation,
Lifts Prohibition of Entry against Korean-Chinese Woman
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) received notification from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) that on October 20th the MOJ would accede to the NHRC recommendation to lift a prohibition of entry against Ms. Oh to permit her to enter Korea (refer to 19 September 2003 press release).
Ms. Oh, an ethnic-Korean of Chinese nationality, had gone to China to register her marriage after having lived together as man and wife with Mr. Kim (a Korean national) for some time. When she tried to return to Korea, the Seoul Immigration Office imposed a prohibition of entry against her based on the fact that in the past, she had overstayed her visa in Korea. In April 2003, Ms. Oh’s husband, Mr. Kim had petitioned a complaint charging that the Seoul Immigration Office’s forced family separation was unjust. The MOJ decision to uphold the NHRC recommendation to allow entry and reunite the couple supports the principle of humanitarian principles against state separation of families.
