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NHRCK Recommends Visa Issuance to Korean National's Foreign Spouse Disqualified from Staying in Korea
Date : 2007.05.02 00:00:00
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Concerning a complaint raised by a Korean woman who had been married to a Pakistani national claiming that the decision of the Ministry of Justice to order departure to her husband was violating their rights, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRCK) concluded that the decision of the Ministry of Justice to reject the issuance of a visa to the spouse of the complainant was violating the principle of family union and recommended the Minister of Justice to issue a relevant visa.
The complainant met her Pakistani husband four years ago and married him after one year of courtship. They filed a report of the marriage with the Pakistani embassy in Korea and the Korean authority concerned. It was not until after two years of marriage that she came to know that her husband" s visa status must be changed after marriage. In December 2005, she filed for a change in his status to the Seoul Immigration Office after paying a fine for his illegal stay. In August 2006, however, the Ministry of Justice turned down the request to change his sojourning status and extend his stay and notified the complainant that her husband must leave the country on grounds that their marriage was deemed not true.
The NHRCK found evidences proving that the marriage of complainant and her husband is not false. The complainant and her husband had lawfully filed a report of marriage with the Pakistani embassy and the Korean authority concerned; from residents in the neighborhood where the complaint lived for two years until last year, the NHRCK obtained statements evidencing or implying that the complainant and her husband had resided there together; above all there was no doubt that the complainant and her husband have been living together at the current abode since late 2006 according to the resident register and statements of their neighbors.
The right to family union is a principle protected by the Constitution and the international human rights laws. The Article 36(1) of the Constitution states that 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. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Korea stipulate that the widest possible protection should be accorded to the family. Also, the NHRCK has numerous recommendations confirming the right to family union as a fundamental principle.
