© Buhm-Suk Baek, 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004501249_013
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State Practice of Asian Countries in
International Law
Korea
Buhm-Suk Baek*
Human Rights – I ssuance of a Visa – Domestic Measures
Decision of the Supreme Court on ‘Revocation of Disposition Rejecting the
Issuance of a Visa’
Supreme Court Decision 2017Du38874 (decided on July 11, 2019)
Facts of the Case & Issues Presented
The Commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration requested the
Minister of Justice to the following effect: “Party A, a singer, departed from
the Republic of Korea for a concert by obtaining permission to travel overseas,
and then subsequently acquired U.S. citizenship, thereby effectively evading
mandatory military service. If Party A seeks to reenter the Republic of Korea
with the status of overseas Korean, forbid him from engaging in for-profit busi-
ness activities, for example, through either formal or informal employment
as a singer. Where such measures are rendered impossible, do not admit Party
A into the Republic of Korea[.]” Upon receiving the request, the Minister of
Justice made a decision prohibiting Party A’s entry into the Republic of Korea
and entered the information into the intranet (immigration management sys-
tem), not notifying Party A of such a decision. Then Party A submitted an F-4
(Overseas Korean) visa application to the head of an overseas diplomatic mis-
sion, but the head of the mission notified Party A’s father of the rejection of the
issuance of the visa via phone instead of presenting a dispositive document
that indicated the grounds for the rejection.
Judgment & Comment
The Court decided that the disposition was flawed in that it violated Article 24(1)
of the Administrative Procedures Act. Also, it ruled that the lower court should
* Professor, Kyung Hee University, Korea.
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