Hanshin University in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province has become the center of controversy after it was found that 22 Uzbek students were forcibly sent home, Hankyoreh reported.

The university says the students boarded the plane voluntarily to return to Uzbekistan, but Uzbeks told the publication they were expelled from the country. The local police have launched an investigation into the university.

The embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul is negotiating with South Korean law enforcement agencies regarding the incident.

According to the Hankyoreh publication, 23 citizens of Uzbekistan studying at the Korean Language Institute at Hanshin University were put on a bus on the morning of November 27 and taken to Inchon International Airport.

At first, students were told to go to the immigration office to get a foreign national registration card. However, the bus picked up employees of a private security agency in Hwaseong and went straight to the international airport. There, the institute’s employees and guards put the students on a pre-booked flight to Uzbekistan. A student who asked for help because of his health got off the flight. The rest flew to Uzbekistan.

According to the students, they were told on the way to the airport that they were being deported to Uzbekistan. Employees of the institute explained that some Uzbeks have problems with their documents, and if they go to the immigration office now, they will be imprisoned. “If you want to return to Korea later, you should fly now,” they said. After that, employees of the institute took away the students’ phones with the help of guards.

On the same day, Hanshin University issued an order to expel Uzbek students “for not presenting immigration documents, leaving the dormitory without permission, having a bad attitude towards education and behavior that does not correspond to the values of the university”.

Hanshin University’s Hankyoreh reported that in November, the immigration service requested the students’ bank account statements and found that many of the students did not comply with the conditions of their stay in the country.

“We were afraid that if we told the students about this, they would run away and become illegal immigrants. The educational institution will be at a disadvantage in attracting foreign students in the future,” explained the university.

But educational institutions do not have the right to deport foreign students. This was announced by the head of the Friend Center, which provides legal advice to migrants, Cho Yong Kwan.

“The institute was probably concerned that the students would be fined if they were found to be in the country illegally. However, educational institutions do not have the right to deport foreign students. The job of the immigration office is to advise or notify students to leave the country so that they can return home voluntarily after their visa expires,” Cho Yong Kwan said.

According to South Korean law, foreign nationals enrolled in language studies must have at least 10 million won ($7,600) in their bank accounts. These funds must be kept for three months or more.

According to the publication, Hanshin University informed foreign students at the time of admission that they only need to keep the required balance for one day. Accordingly, many students spent part of their bank funds after going to South Korea. After that, the university authorities rushed to deport the students, fearing that they would be classified as illegal immigrants. The management of Hanshin University claims that the Ministry of Justice of South Korea gave incorrect information about the period of storage of the money.

According to the Uzbek students, they were sent back to Uzbekistan without even being allowed to take their belongings from their dormitories. Hanshin University later announced that it would refund the contract money for the remaining period if they confirmed in writing that they voluntarily left South Korea.

It is said that the local police have started an investigation against the university.

The embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul discussed the situation with the management of Hanshin University and reported that the students violated the rules of staying in South Korea and studying at the university. In particular, they “did not comply with the internal requirements of the university, worked illegally and skipped classes”. In mid-November, 8 students had a car accident while returning from illegal work. This incident caused wide discussions in the Korean press and social networks. Due to the fact that the affected students did not have health insurance, all costs for their examination and treatment were covered by the university.

“According to the submission of the Pyeongtaek City Immigration Service, the university management made a decision to expel the students from the university because they had committed such illegal actions without having time to obtain a document granting the right to live in South Korea (ID card). As a result, on November 27, 22 Uzbek students were expelled from the territory of South Korea. Such actions by Uzbek students may complicate the process of issuing visas to Uzbek citizens by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Uzbekistan and make it difficult for Uzbek students to enroll in Korean higher education institutions,” the embassy said.