On January 5, 2026, National Assembly member Kim Mi-ae of the People Power Party, together with ten co-sponsors, submitted a proposed amendment to the Immigration Control Act.

The proposed amendment would require that foreign crime statistics be compiled and published broken down by nationality and by visa/residence status. MAP (Migration to Asia Peace) and a number of other migrant-support organizations immediately issued a joint statement calling for the bill to be withdrawn, arguing that it could stoke hatred toward migrants and spread unfounded fear.

Main Points of the Proposed Amendment

The sponsors argued that while the Ministry of Justice already regularly compiles and publishes immigration figures and statistics on foreign residents, there is no clear legal basis for organizing and managing foreign crime statistics by nationality and by residence status. The key provisions of the amendment are as follows.

  • The Minister of Justice would be required to compile and publish, at least once a year, data including immigration figures, statistics on foreign residents broken down by nationality and residence status, and statistics on criminal cases involving foreigners.
  • A legal basis would be created for requesting relevant government agencies to submit data when needed.
  • Detailed procedures for compiling, managing, and publishing the statistics would be set out in a presidential decree.

Key Arguments in the Opposition Statement

1. The current Immigration Control Act already has sufficient safeguards

Under the current Immigration Control Act, applicants must submit criminal record certificates from their home country and any previous country of residence as part of the residence screening process. This means that people with a criminal record cannot enter Korea. In addition, foreigners who receive a fine above a certain amount or a prison sentence and have completed that sentence are subject to deportation, so in practice very few foreigners with a criminal record remain in the country.

2. Foreign crime statistics already exist, and the crime rate is about half that of Korean nationals

Prosecutors and police already compile crime statistics for foreigners broken down by nationality. According to those statistics, the crime rate for foreigners is only about half that of Korean nationals. It is therefore unclear what practical policy benefit would be gained by publishing additional nationality-based crime statistics.

3. Discrimination based on nationality violates the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)

Using nationality-based crime statistics as a basis for tightening screening or denying entry to people from particular countries would constitute discrimination on grounds of nationality, in violation of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Korea is a state party to ICERD and has an obligation under international law to uphold its commitments.

4. Race-based crime statistics encourage stigma and social discrimination

Publishing numbers showing how many crimes were committed by people from a particular country can create a stigma effect that attaches to everyone from that country. The statement asks readers to imagine the reverse: if another country were to publish crime statistics broken down by the nationality of Korean offenders, Koreans going abroad to study, work, or marry could face discrimination using exactly the same logic, and this could also lead to serious diplomatic problems.

5. The statistics that are actually needed are a different matter entirely

Statistics on hate-motivated violent crimes against migrants are still not being systematically collected. This makes it very difficult to understand the severity of social discrimination experienced by migrants through objective data. The statement emphasizes that compiling statistics on the migrant-background population is itself necessary, but the purpose of doing so must be to design policies for settlement, integration, and social cohesion. Such statistics must not become a tool for hatred, stigma, discrimination, or exclusion.

Demands in the Statement

The organizations that joined the joint statement make two demands.

  1. Representative Kim Mi-ae and the other sponsors should immediately withdraw the Immigration Control Act amendment bill.
  2. All acts of inciting racial discrimination must stop at once.

Before submitting this amendment, about a year earlier, Representative Kim Mi-ae had also proposed an amendment to the National Health Insurance Act, arguing that foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, were taking a “free ride” on the national health insurance system.

That amendment proposed introducing a reciprocity principle into health insurance coverage.

Critics argued that, in a social insurance system built on universal coverage and social solidarity, trying to limit the health rights of specific groups of migrants was primarily motivated by a desire to stoke hostility toward foreigners from certain countries, rather than by any genuine concern for fiscal efficiency.

Note: Immigration laws and procedures can change at any time. For the most up-to-date information, please contact the Immigration Contact Center (1345) directly or visit your local Korea Immigration Service office.