What is the difference between a departure order and deportation in Korea?

What Korean law says

Article 68(1): the head of a local immigration office may issue a departure order to a foreign national who is recognised as falling within one of the grounds in Article 46(1) but intends to leave voluntarily at their own expense; to a person who failed to comply with a recommendation to depart under Article 67; to a person whose permissions have been cancelled under Article 89; to a person whose permanent residence status has been cancelled; and to a person for whom departure is considered appropriate following an administrative fine or a notification disposition.

Article 68(2) and (3): a departure order form must be issued, and when it is issued a deadline for departure is set. Conditions may be attached, including restrictions on residence, and a performance bond of up to twenty million won may be required.

Article 68(4): a person who does not leave by the deadline, or who breaches the attached conditions, may then be dealt with by deportation.

Article 46(1) lists the grounds for deportation. They include entering in breach of the entry provisions, an entry-ban ground under Article 11(1) being discovered or arising after entry, breaching the conditions attached to a permission, and breaching Articles 17, 18, 20, 23, 24 or 25, which cover stay, employment and status.

Immigration Control Act, Articles 46, 67 and 68. Act No. 20992, in force from 23 January 2026.

What usually happens in practice

The difference that matters is what each leaves behind. A departure order is a disposition you comply with yourself, on a date you know, with your affairs closed and your property dealt with. Deportation is carried out, and it is the version that sits heaviest on any later application to return.

Because Article 68(1) is framed around a person who falls within the deportation grounds but intends to leave at their own expense, the departure order route is often available precisely when someone believes they have already lost. That is the moment to raise it, not after a deportation order has issued.

The conditions in paragraph 3 are real obligations. A deadline missed or a residence condition broken converts the departure order into deportation under paragraph 4, which is the worst of both outcomes: you have the removal on record and you lost the chance to leave on your own terms.

What you should do next

• Establish which disposition you have actually received. The documents are different and so are the consequences.
• If deportation grounds are being asserted, ask about voluntary departure at your own expense before a deportation order issues.
• Treat the departure deadline and any attached conditions as absolute. Breaching them triggers Article 68(4).
• Close your affairs before the deadline, including your lease, your accounts and any pending pay.

Written and reviewed by Soobin You, Attorney at YUSU Lawfirm. Former prosecutor. Last legal review: 12 September 2026.