Foreign nationals on the morning of March 6, 2020, wait to report their self-deportation at the Seoul Southern Immigration Office in the capital's Yangcheon-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong

The Ministry of Justice on Nov. 28 announced a 90-day period for self-deportation from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 that exempts fines and delays entry restrictions for foreign nationals committing illegal immigration.

Excluded are those subject to deportation such as those without the proper visas or documentation, users of forged passports, criminal offenders and those who fail to comply with departure orders as well as those guilty of illegal immigration after Dec. 1.

The previous program suspended entry restrictions only if immigration offenders paid their fines but the latest one grants them the exemptions even if they do not pay.

"This system was designed to allow those staying illegally in Korea to return to their home countries without the burden of fines or entry restrictions," Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho said. "I hope that many use this system."

dusrud21@korea.kr