The Central Administrative Appeals Commission (CAAC) under the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission ruled that the Ministry of Justice's decision not to grant naturalization to a foreigner who was fined for their dog biting a person was valid. This was due to the violation of the requirement that conduct must be decent.
According to the CAAC on the 3rd, the foreigner, identified as A, has been living in Korea since 2009 on a permanent visa (F-5). A applied for naturalization approval from the Ministry of Justice in May 2023 but was denied in November of the following year. This was because during the naturalization review, A's 9 kg dog got out of the house when the front door was opened and bit a neighboring resident. The neighbor suffered a two-week injury.
In August of that year, A was fined 1 million won by the court for negligence. A penal order is processed in writing without a trial for relatively minor crimes. The Ministry of Justice determined that A violated the requirement of decent conduct as per the Nationality Act. This law states that if less than five years have passed since the payment of a fine, it is considered that the individual does not have decent conduct.
In response, A filed an administrative appeal with the CAAC in January this year. An administrative appeal challenges the decisions of administrative agencies and effectively acts as a first-instance court in administrative cases. Last month, the CAAC dismissed A's administrative appeal. The CAAC said, "A's dog had bitten a person before," adding, "A can reapply for naturalization after meeting the requirements (after five years have passed since the fine payment)."
If A contests the CAAC's ruling, they can file a lawsuit in the administrative court within 90 days. The CAAC stated, "A has not filed a separate lawsuit since then."