Tool of justice or political weapon? Debate grows over exit bans in Korea

Korea’s “exit ban,” a sweeping tool used to stop suspects from leaving the country, is coming under mounting scrutiny. Long seen as a cornerstone of investigative authority, the system is now under attack both as an instrument of arbitrary state overreach and a system riddled with gaps that appears to spare well-connected figures, including a Seoul city councilor under investigation for corruption and the acting head of one of the country’s biggest online retailers. Recent lapses involving Kim Kyung, the city councilor accused of bribery, and Coupang’s interim CEO Harold Rogers, have exposed a systemic double bind: Authorities are increasingly decried as being heavy-handed with ordinary suspects, yet indulgent toward the powerful. Police, who are behind the 30 percent rise in ban requests since 2020, face mounting pressure to reform. Critics argue the “ban-first” culture has become a default tactic rather than a last resort, even as high-profile figures continue to slip through the cracks. However, experts note such incidents are the exception and that more often, exit bans hav

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