An administrative court in Korea has ruled that it was valid to deny a foreign student’s request to extend their stay to meet the requirements for graduation from graduate school. On February 12, 2026 , the Jeonju District Court Administrative Division 1-1 (Presiding Judge Lee Dong-jin ) ruled against a Mongolian national who sued the Director of the Jeonju Immigration Office seeking the annulment of the decision to deny the extension of the period of stay ( 2025Guhap1267 ).

Facts

Korean Immigration Lawyers, Korean Departure Orders, Korea Exit Orders
  1. A Mongolian national entered Korea in February 2023 on a student visa and completed a master’s program at a Korean university in August 2024.
  2. The student did not achieve Level 4 on the Korean Language Proficiency Test, a graduation requirement before completing the degree.
  3. The student’s period of stay was set to expire in March 2025, and the student applied for an extension to take the Korean Language Proficiency Test scheduled for 2025.
  4. The Jeonju Immigration Office denied the visa extension application.
  5. The student filed an administrative appeal, and when the appeal was dismissed, the student filed a complaint to court.

Jeonju Court Decision

The Jeonju District Court Administrative Division held that the decision to deny the extension of the period of ssojurn was valid noting, in short, that even if the student suffers disadvantages resulting from the inability to stay in the Republic of Korea due to the denial of the extension of his stay, including not obtaining his Masters Degree, the fault is his own and the Korean Government has a public interest and has the right to dispel immigrants it deems undesirable. The court did not specifically elaborate on the nature of the public interest and, in short, deferred to Korea Immigration’s judgment.