Can I appeal a deportation order in Korea?

What Korean law says

Article 60(1): where a suspect wishes to file an objection against a deportation order, they must submit a written objection to the Minister of Justice, via the head of the local immigration office, within seven days from the day they received the deportation order.

Article 60(2): on receiving the objection, the head of the local immigration office must forward it to the Minister of Justice with the examination decision and the investigation records attached.

Immigration Control Act, Article 60. Act No. 20992, in force from 23 January 2026. Administrative litigation is a separate route with its own rules and time limits, which should be confirmed for your case.

What usually happens in practice

The seven days run from receipt of the order, which is usually handed over in person, and they do not pause because you are being held, because you are arranging a lawyer, or because you are waiting for documents from home. Everything that matters has to be assembled inside that window.

Note what paragraph 2 requires: the local office forwards the objection together with its own examination decision and investigation records. The decision-maker therefore sees the office’s account of your case alongside yours. That is a reason to put your own material in properly rather than relying on a short statement, because the file it is read against is already written.

An objection is also not the only route. Administrative litigation against the disposition exists separately, on its own timetable, and the two are decided under different rules. Which is worth pursuing depends on the ground relied on for the deportation, so identifying that ground precisely is the first task.

What you should do next

• Write down the date you received the order. Everything runs from it.
• Get the specific ground being relied on, in writing, rather than a general explanation.
• File within seven days through the issuing office, even if your supporting material is still incomplete.
• Ask about a departure order at the same time. The two questions run in parallel, not in sequence.

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