[단독]Russia, this time, a Korean citizen who served as the president of a Korean community is banned from entering the country for 30 years… Reason: “Confidential”

2024-04-19 06:05:51

Female businesswoman in her 60s who stayed in Russia for 22 years
“I didn’t even support North Korean defectors, but I was kicked out.”
Missionaries were arrested and then deported one after another.
Concerns about full-scale retaliation against sanctions against Russia

It was confirmed that Mr. Lee (60), who served as the president of a Korean community in a Russian region, was recently banned from entering the country for 30 years by Russian authorities. Regarding the reason for Mr. Lee’s deportation, the Russian side only said that it was a ‘state secret’ and did not disclose a clear reason to the parties or the Korean government. It is known that Mr. Lee, who lived in Russia for nearly 22 years, has never been investigated for criminal charges.

Russia previously arrested a Korean missionary, Mr. Baek, early this year and is still in detention. This year, cases of disadvantages such as refusal of visa extensions to Korean residents are continuing. As Korea-Russia relations have deteriorated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are concerns that Russian authorities’ retaliatory measures against Korean citizens may have begun in earnest.

● 30-year entry ban… ‘National secret’ only a brief explanation

According to Ms. Lee, who is staying in Korea, she has lived in Russia for about 22 years since 2003 with her husband, who was dispatched as an expatriate. In the meantime, he traveled back and forth within the country and received a visa or was issued a ‘residence permit’, which is a temporary permanent residence permit, for 3 to 5 years. Even after the company her husband worked for withdrew from Russia, the couple continued their business selling Korean medical devices in Russia. Mr. Lee, who took root in the Korean community, also served as president of the local Korean community. He also served as an advisory member of the Democratic, Peaceful and Unification Advisory Council, an organization directly under the President.

The problem arose when Lee applied for permanent residency at the Russian Immigration Service last year. A few months later, he received notice from the Russian Immigration Service that “permanent residency cannot be granted.” He appealed the decision and filed a lawsuit locally, but lost. Temporary permanent residency was also automatically revoked after the losing decision. Mr. Lee said, “I did not receive any explanation as to why the issuance of a green card was denied other than that it was a ‘state secret.’”

Mr. Lee, who has a family, home, and company in Russia, returned to Korea in December last year to reissue his Russian residence visa. Afterwards, a new visa was issued for her husband to invite his family. However, when Mr. Lee arrived at the Russian airport on the 1st of last month, he learned that he had been denied entry. The ‘entry ban document’ he received from the Russian immigration office did not even list the reasons for his refusal to enter the country. He simply stated that he was “not permitted to enter the Russian Federation until January 16, 2054.”

Regarding the entry ban on Mr. Lee, a high-ranking Korean government source also said, “Russian authorities did not disclose the exact reason for the entry ban.” This source added, “Mr. Lee has never been investigated for a crime locally.” Mr. Lee said, “I have never supported North Korean defectors, whom the Russian authorities consider sensitive,” and “I was suddenly kicked out without knowing why from the place where I had devoted my youth for over 20 years.” He also said, “I’m in a situation where I can’t sell my house or send money.”

● Consecutive deprivation of permanent residency status and deportation of Korean residents from Russia

It is very unusual for Russia to impose a 30-year entry ban on Korean citizens. Even when Russia catches missionaries trying to rescue North Korean defectors, they usually only ban them from entering the country for about 5 to 10 years.

Recently, some other Koreans residing in Russia were deported because the purpose of their visit stated on their issued visas did not match their actual activities in Russia. It is said that four Korean citizens were detained at the airport while entering Russia under the pretext of confirming the purpose of their visit and were interrogated for 1 to 4 hours.

In December of last year, the government added 682 items at risk of being used as weapons to the list of export controls as part of the international community’s cooperation in export control against Russia. In response, Russia announced retaliatory measures. Earlier this month, when the South Korean government designated Russian corporations and individuals who violated sanctions against North Korea as targets of sanctions, Russia threatened that it would “have a negative impact on the security of the Republic of Korea.”

To this extent, there are concerns that Russia may have taken retaliatory measures against Korean citizens as a means of diplomatic pressure to prevent Korea from imposing sanctions against Russia. A government source said, “It is true that the environment (between Korea and Russia) is not good because we are imposing sanctions on Russia and Russia has designated us as an unfriendly country.” Some analysts say that as North Korea-Russia relations become closer, the Russian authorities’ control over Korean citizens has strengthened.

Reporter Ko Do-ye [email protected]
Reporter Shin Jin-woo [email protected]

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2024-04-19 06:05:51