This research is designed to understand the current reforms of the Chinese immigration control law and system, and in particular regulations and criminal sanctions on the illegal immigration and its related crimes and violations.
The background of the research is the case of Korean nationals who works for around 300,000 of North Korean illegal immigrants in the east-northern region of China, and arrested by Chinese authorities. Such activists who support North Koreans have been punished by the crimes of aid and abet illegal entry and departure, but recently there are policy-change by way of punishing as the crimes of national security.
The newly amended Chinese Immigration Control Law in 2012 expands its application and increase the level of penalty on the crimes by illegal immigrants and workers in China.
The aim of this study is, thus, to survey the recent trends in the law and policy of immigration control and its related criminal justice policy and to propose some measures to protect Korean residents in China and to promote mutual cooperation between Korean and Chinese authorities.