Hello. I am Attorney Kim Yae-jin.

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I would like to share a successful visa extension case involving a foreign national who received a criminal conviction for drunk driving earlier this year.

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Foreign national A was residing in Korea under a student visa (D-2) and had a prior record of being fined approximately 1.2 million won for a traffic accident (not related to drunk driving). In that situation, he was caught driving under the influence and received a summary order imposing a fine of 3 million won.

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According to the Immigration Service’s internal guidelines, a person sentenced to a fine of 3 million won or more is subject to deportation; therefore, I defended Mr. A in his criminal case and filed a motion for a formal trial against the summary order. At the trial court, I submitted evidence and information favorable to sentencing—such as the fact that Mr. A was diligently pursuing his studies in Korea and was set to graduate soon, that he planned to seek employment in Korea after graduation, and that he was raising a child—and explained to the court that if the judgment were finalized as per the summary order, he would be subject to deportation. Taking Mr. A’s circumstances into consideration, the court reduced the fine to approximately 1.5 million won, and since neither Mr. A nor the prosecutor appealed, the judgment became final.

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Later, as Mr. A’s stay expiration date approached, he applied for an extension of his stay. However, the immigration office informed him that, due to a change in internal guidelines, individuals convicted of drunk driving were subject to deportation regardless of the fine amount, and advised him to submit relevant documentation if he had humanitarian grounds. I represented Mr. A in his application for an extension of his period of stay. I submitted all documentation proving that his children were enrolled in school in Korea and persuaded the immigration office that they needed to continue their education. Taking these humanitarian grounds into consideration, the immigration office did not impose any immigration punishment and granted him an extension of his period of stay.

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As discussed above, foreigners can be subject to deportation simply by being sentenced to a fine; therefore, if you are charged with a criminal offense, you need the assistance of an attorney who specializes in criminal cases involving foreigners and visa matters. In this case, the foreign national was able to achieve a favorable outcome because both the criminal case and the application for an extension of stay were handled with the assistance of me, Attorney Kim Yae-jin, who specializes in criminal cases involving foreigners and visa matters.

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If you are facing a similar situation and need assistance, please feel free to contact me.

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Contact Us

Yae Jin Kim, esq.

Phone: 031-217-8579 (Kakao Talk: k.visa)

Email: questions@kvisa.co.kr

Website: en.kvisa.co.kr