| Tunisian emergency responders load aid supplies for Syria and Turkey into military planes at L'Aouina military airport on Feb. 7, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the neighboring countries a day before. AFP-Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Turkish and Syrian nationals who have overstayed their visa are now free to leave Korea without any penalty, according to the Ministry of Justice.
The ministry said Thursday it initiated the emergency measure to help Turkish and Syrian nationals staying here illegally return to their countries that were recently hit by a massive earthquake.
The measure, however, is only valid until March 10.
The Investigation and Enforcement Division of the Korea Immigration Service said the measure is to enable the nationals to return to their countries to check the whereabouts of their loved ones or to participate in rescue or city recovery operations.
The authority said Turkish and Syrian nationals who have been staying here with expired visas and wish to leave the country voluntarily can report themselves at their point of departure without notifying a local immigration office of their expired visa status in advance.
The earthquake and a series of aftershocks earlier this week have killed more than 20,700 people in Turkey and Syria as of Friday. The damage has already surpassed the toll from 2011 earthquake off Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami, killing more than 18,400.
So far, over 12,800 people are estimated to have been killed in Turkey. The casualties came from the disaster-stricken regions that are close to the Turkey-Syria border, including the cities of Kilis, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep. The country's disaster management agency said more than 60,000 have also been injured.
On the Syrian side of the border, over 3,100 people have been reported dead and more than 5,000 injured. Tens of thousands are thought to have lost their homes.