“Wife Emergency” Naturalization Applicant Drunk Driving Excuse, Court Did Not Accept

It was ruled that the disposition of the Ministry of Justice, which refused to apply for naturalization due to the drunk driving experience of foreign residents, was justified.

Drunk Driving. [중앙포토, 뉴스1]

The fifth part of the Seoul Administrative Court (Director Park Yang-joon) announced on the 4th that it had dismissed the plaintiff’s claim in a lawsuit filed against the Ministry of Justice by a foreigner of Nepalese nationality for cancellation of disposition for non-naturalization.

Mr. A married a Korean woman in March 2014 and entered Korea in June of that year. After giving birth in November 2017, he applied for simplified naturalization to the Ministry of Justice in May of the following year. Simple naturalization is a system that allows foreigners with Korean spouses to be married if they continue to live in Korea for 3 years or more, unlike general naturalization, which requires a residence in Korea for at least 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice did not accept Mr. A’s request. The reason was that Mr. A failed to meet the criteria for’determination of conduct’, which is a naturalization requirement, as he was subject to criminal punishment for drunk driving during the naturalization examination period. Accordingly, Mr. A filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court to cancel the disposition for denial of application for nationality.

At the trial, he argued that “there was an inevitable reason for drunk driving,” and that “the disposition of the Ministry of Justice corresponds to a deviation or abuse of discretion.” After drinking together at a dinner party, the first wife who went out was mistaken for having an abnormality in her body when she saw that she was lying alone in a car, so she committed a crime while trying to take her to the hospital. He also emphasized that he has been working as a company since entering Korea in 2014.

However, the court also saw that the Justice Department’s disposition was justified. At the time of drunk driving, Mr. A said that he was drunk at 0.186% of blood alcohol, and that there is a high possibility of being accused of committing a crime during the naturalization examination period.

The court refused to accept the allegation that he drunk driving while taking his wife to the hospital. The judge said, “It seems to be due to excessive drinking that the misunderstanding of the drunk spouse’s condition as a condition of serious life and health, and the fact that Mr. A used a surrogate driving normally and that the spouse’s health was not good is wrong. It is difficult to see that the above manuscript’s drunk driving crimes caused by errors are rationalized.”

The court also considered that there would be no immediate damage to Mr. A if he was not allowed to apply for naturalization immediately. The Ministry of Justice said, “Because there is no limit on the number or timing of naturalization applications, it is possible to naturalize in Korea again by proving that one’s conduct is modest without causing other problems for a considerable period of time.”

Reporter Dr. Ra [email protected]