Tackling illegal aliens

The Ministry of Justice has come up with a package of measures aimed at restricting foreigners staying in South Korea illegally from leaving the country without prior notification.

The measures come after an undocumented Kazakh immigrant left South Korea last month, a day after allegedly being involved in a hit-and-run accident in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province that left a seven-year-old boy severely injured.

Under the “voluntary departure prior notification system,” illegal immigrants here must report to the immigration authorities three to 15 days before they leave.

Until now, they could leave on the day of departure as long as they were not under a travel ban. With the implementation of the new system, foreigners who commit crimes here will not be able to flee the country as the Kazakh national did. South Korea is in talks with Kazakhstan over his quick extradition.

The current report system is due to be abolished Oct. 21 and applications for voluntary departure under the new system will be received from Oct. 14.

Illegal aliens must submit their passports, flight tickets and application forms when they report their departure. They are barred from changing departure dates once they have provided notification; a requirement to prevent people from fleeing earlier than scheduled after committing crimes.

The prior notification system will certainly be effective in reducing the number of illegal foreign sojourners who flee after committing crimes here. Yet it is regrettable that the new system is being introduced only after a tragic incident.

The number of foreigners staying here illegally was 3750,000 at the end of August, more than double the 183,000 in 2013.

If the problem of illegal aliens is not addressed immediately, social problems caused by this will inevitably increase. The government should come up with fundamental measures to check the rising number of undocumented immigrants.