Agreement Between Japan and the Republic of Korea Concerning the Legal Status and Treatment of the People of the Republic of Korea Residing in Japan

Japan and the Republic of Korea,

Considering the fact that the nationals of the Republic of Korea residing in Japan for many years have come to possess a special relationship with Japanese society; and

Recognizing that enabling the nationals of the Republic of Korea to lead a stabilized life under the Japanese social order will contribute to the promotion of friendly relations between the two countries and their peoples,

Have agreed as follows:

Article I

1 The Government of Japan will permit a national of the Republic of Korea falling under any one of the following categories to reside permanently in Japan if within five years of the date on which the present Agreement enters into force he applies, in accordance with the procedures determined by the Government of Japan for the implementation of the present Agreement, for permission for permanent residence:

(a) A person who resided in Japan prior to August 15, 1945, and who has continuously resided there until the application has been filed; and

(b) A person who is born on or after August 16, 1945, and within five years of the date on which the present Agreement enters into force, who is a lineal descendant of a person mentioned in (a) above, and who has continuously resided in Japan therefrom until the application has been filed.

2 The Government of Japan will permit a national of the Republic of Korea, born after the lapse of five years from the date on which the present Agreement enters into force, and who is the child of a person permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 above, to reside permanently in Japan when permission for permanent residence is applied for within sixty days of the date of his birth in accordance with the procedures determined by the Government of Japan for the implementation of the present Agreement.

3 The term within which application for permission for permanent residence is to be filed for a person falling under paragraph (b) above and who is born after the lapse of 4 years and 10 months from the date on which the present Agreement enters into force shall be 60 days beginning from the date of his birth notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 above.

4 No fee shall be levied on the aforesaid application and permission.

Article II

1 The Government of Japan agrees to enter into consultations, if requested by the Government of the Republic of Korea, within 25 years of the date on which the present Agreement enters into force, with a view to the residence in Japan of a national of the Republic of Korea born in Japan as a lineal descendant of a person who has been permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I.

2 In the consultations under paragraph I above, the spirit and purposes which form the basis of the present Agreement shall be respected.

Article III

A national of the Republic of Korea who has been permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I shall not be forcibly deported from Japan unless after the date on which the present Agreement enters into force he commits an act whereby he falls under any one of the following categories:

(a) A person who has been punished with a penalty heavier than imprisonment in Japan for crimes concerning insurrection or crimes concerning foreign aggression (excluding a person whose sentence has been suspended or one who has been punished on charges of joining in an insurrection);

(b) A person who has been punished with a penalty heavier than imprisonment in Japan for crimes relating to diplomatic relations, and a person who has been punished with a penalty heavier than imprisonment for criminal acts against the chief of State, a diplomatic envoy, or a diplomatic mission of a foreign country and thereby causing an injury to the important diplomatic interests of Japan;

(c) A person who has been punished with penal servitude or imprisonment for life or for not less than three years (excluding a person whose sentence has been suspended) on charges of violation of Japanese laws and ordinances concerning control of narcotics for the purpose of gain, and a person who has been punished three or more times (twice or more for one who has been punished three or more times for acts committed prior to the date on which the present Agreement enters into force) on charges of violation of Japanese laws and ordinances; and

(d) A person who has been punished with penal servitude or imprisonment for life or for seven or more years on charges of violation of Japanese laws and ordinances.

Article IV

The Government of Japan will give due consideration to the following matters:

(a) Matters concerning the education, livelihood protection, and national health insurance in Japan for a national of the Republic of Korea who has been permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I; and

(b) Matters concerning the carrying of property and the remitting of funds to the Republic of Korea in the case of a national of the Republic of Korea who has been permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I (including one who is qualified to apply for permission for permanent residence in accordance with the provisions of the same Article), who has abandoned the intention to reside permanently in Japan, and who returns to the Republic of Korea.

Article V

It is confirmed that a national of the Republic of Korea who has been permitted to reside permanently in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I shall be subject to the application of Japanese laws and ordinances applicable equally to all aliens, concerning all matters including emigration, immigration, and residence, except for the cases specifically prescribed in the present Agreement.

Article VI

The present Agreement shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Seoul as soon as possible. The present Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the date on which the instruments of ratification are exchanged.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Agreement.

DONE in duplicate at Tokyo, this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five in the Japanese and Korean languages, each text being equally authentic.

FOR JAPAN FOR THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Etsusaburo Shiina Tong Won Lee

Shinichi Takasugi Dong Jo Kim

[Agreed minutes interpreting the Agreement are not reproduced.]