This photo shows a parliamentary legislative committee meeting held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Aug. 29, 2022. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The parliamentary legislative committee on Monday passed a revision bill aimed at granting a longer period for multiple nationality holders to report renouncement of South Korean citizenship.
The revision proposal was made in line with the Constitutional Court’s 2020 ruling that some clauses of the Nationality Act imposing obligations and restraints on multiple nationality holders in their selection of nationality do not conform to the Constitution.
Under the revision bill, those who hold multiple citizenships for natural reasons can renounce South Korean citizenship even after the application period if they have valid reasons, such as a disadvantage in job selection.
The bill defines natural holders of multiple nationalities as those who were born and raised abroad and those who immigrated to another country before the age of 6.
The bill also stipulates the creation of a new process to allow citizenship renunciation in exceptional cases acknowledged by the justice ministry.
The current law requires multiple nationality holders subject to mandatory military service in the country to choose one nationality by March 31 of the year they turn 18.
If they want to give up Korean nationality after the deadline passes, they must fulfill their military service obligations or wait until age 36 when military duty obligations expire.
The law has sparked criticism that it excessively restricts the right of those holding multiple nationalities.
The Constitutional Court has ordered the National Assembly to revise the law by Sept. 30.
If the revision bill passes the parliament’s plenary session vote, it will go into effect on Oct. 1.
(Yonhap)
