Can immigration detain me in Korea?

What Korean law says

Article 51(1): where there is substantial reason to suspect that a foreign national falls under any of the grounds in Article 46(1), and the person has absconded or there is a risk that they will, an immigration officer may detain that person on a protection order issued by the head of the local immigration office.

Article 63(1): where a person who has received a deportation order cannot be repatriated immediately, for reasons such as not holding a passport or transport not being available, the head of the local immigration office may detain them in a detention facility, within a limit of two months, until repatriation becomes possible.

Article 63(2): where repatriation is still not possible after two months, for reasons such as the person not cooperating with repatriation, the period may be extended in steps of up to three months, each with the prior approval of the Foreigner Detention Committee, and the total including extensions may not exceed nine months. The proviso allows further three-month extensions to a total of twenty months in defined cases, including where repatriation has been delayed because the person applied for refugee recognition after the deportation order or brought litigation against a decision under the Refugee Act, and where the person has committed offences under the National Security Act or the counter-terrorism and terrorist-financing legislation.

Immigration Control Act, Articles 46, 51 and 63. Act No. 20992, in force from 23 January 2026.

What usually happens in practice

The trigger in Article 51(1) is two-limbed and the second limb is the one that is argued: substantial reason to suspect a deportation ground, and a risk of flight. The material that answers flight risk is the same material that answers it in a criminal detention hearing, and it is ordinary: a lease, an employer, a family in Korea, a child in school.

Article 63 detention is not punishment and is not open-ended. It is tied to the practical impossibility of removal, which is why the clock in paragraph 2 is structured around cooperation. Not cooperating with repatriation is expressly the example the statute gives for why two months becomes longer.

The twenty-month limb is worth understanding before relying on the strategy that triggers it. Applying for refugee recognition after a deportation order, or litigating a refugee decision, is one of the listed reasons detention can extend beyond nine months. That is not a reason not to make a genuine application, but it is a consequence to know about in advance rather than discover.

What you should do next

• Ask which power you are being held under. Article 51 and Article 63 are different stages with different limits.
• Gather proof of ties to Korea immediately. Flight risk is the live issue at the Article 51 stage.
• Ask your consulate to be notified, and ask for a lawyer. Both requests belong on the record.
• Understand the interaction before applying for refugee recognition after a deportation order. It is one of the listed grounds for extending detention.

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