The Korean government is expected to grant special stay permits to Afghans sojourning here, as part of a humanitarian move for those whose safety could be threatened if they return to their Taliban-controlled homeland.
Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said Tuesday that the ministry is considering allowing them to overstay their visas, as it did for people from Myanmar here after a military coup took place in their country in February.
“At the time of the Myanmar coup, we applied some rules about granting them special stay permits, and I believe we can adopt the same rules for Afghans this time,” Park told reporters.
In March, the government granted special stay permits to approximately 25,000 Myanmar nationals in Korea. At the time, the government granted temporary stay permits to those whose visas were about to expire, and decided not to forcibly deport those who could not acquire the permit for various reasons, and instead encourage them to leave voluntarily after the situation in their home country improves.
According to the ministry, there are already 417 Afghans residing in Korea as of July, and 120 of them will see their period of stay expiring this year. Most of them are here for the purpose of diplomacy, study or other training.
While the government is leaning toward allowing Afghan residents already in Korea to overstay their existing visas, a U.S.-suggested plan of housing Afghan evacuees in U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) bases here appears to have been scrapped.
“As of now, Korea is not included in a number of countries where Afghan evacuees will be housed,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. “The government has reviewed transferring Afghans who helped the Korean government with activities in Afghanistan into Korea, but it is not proceeding with discussions on housing other Afghan evacuees in USFK bases.”
Reuters also reported later in the day that the U.S. has decided against the idea of using its largest overseas military bases in South Korea and Japan to house Afghan refugees temporarily, citing unidentified sources.
On Monday, the government confirmed that it had “a rudimentary discussion” with the U.S. on the possibility of accepting Afghan evacuees here, but added that the discussion did not move forward.
Regarding the plan, some members of the Korean public expressed concerns over COVID-19 infections, the possibility of radical Islamists among the evacuees and costs incurred from operating refugee camps. Heavyweight politicians of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea also showed caution, saying the government must be prudent in making such decisions.
