Promotion of providing in-flight lunch boxes instead of bread… ‘National responsibility’ vs ‘excessive policy’

Promotion of providing in-flight lunch boxes instead of bread… “State responsibility” vs “excessive policy”

(Incheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sang-yeon = Immigration authorities are considering the appropriate level of meals to be provided to foreigners facing forced eviction from Incheon International Airport.

According to the immigration authorities on the 27th, the Incheon Airport Immigration Office of the Ministry of Justice is promoting the provision of in-flight lunch boxes to forcibly deported people leaving the country through Incheon Airport.

In general, when illegal stay is confirmed, those forcibly evicted are subject to basic measures at each immigration office and sent to Incheon Airport, where they stay in a separate waiting room until departure.

The Incheon Airport Immigration Office believes that in-flight lunch boxes meet the optimal conditions as it pursues the provision of its own meals instead of the bread and drinks provided by the immigration office.

It is judged that the lunch box provided as an in-flight meal (6,910 won per meal) is a reasonable option in terms of basic quality, carry-on procedures, and cultural diversity.

Already at Incheon International Airport, in-flight lunch boxes are being provided exceptionally to foreigners waiting to depart in the repatriation waiting room due to failure to properly explain their purpose of entry.

The Incheon Airport Immigration Office is in the process of obtaining permission from the Incheon Airport Headquarters Customs to allow those forcibly evicted to bring the same meals into the airport.

We are still considering providing relatively simple types of food, including sandwiches and hamburgers. The space where the forcibly evictees stay is not equipped with any desks or other furniture, so if a packed lunch is provided, they have no choice but to eat it on the floor.

Meanwhile, there is considerable opposition within the organization over providing in-flight meals to illegal immigrants in the same way as foreigners who are simply denied entry.

Field workers are concerned about the possibility that the cutlery provided with in-flight meals may be misused as a type of weapon and that meals may deteriorate in confined spaces.

Above all, it is argued that providing in-flight meals costing 7,000 won to illegal immigrants promotes distorted perceptions and undermines the strictness of law enforcement.

An official at the Incheon Airport Immigration Office said, "If the government is in charge of new recruits until they board a plane, there is a need to provide an appropriate level of meals. We are considering various options."