Myanmar junta to cancel passports renewed by shadow government’s South Korea office

By RFA Burmese2024.11.13

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.

Myanmar’s junta has announced that passports renewed “illegally” in South Korea would be canceled, the latest step in its efforts to crack down on its opponents abroad and to force citizens to return home, where they are liable to be conscripted into the military.

At the heart of the wrangle over passports is the question of who has the legitimacy to represent Myanmar – the deeply unpopular military that seized power in a 2021 coup, or members of the elected government it ousted who have set up a shadow administration in exile.

Radio Free Asia’s Burmese service reported on Tuesday that there has been an increasing number of Myanmar citizens renewing their passports in the South Korean capital at the representative office of the government-in-exile, the National Unity Government, or NUG.

But the junta-appointed Myanmar embassy in Seoul warned that passports renewed that way would be canceled and their bearers would be blacklisted.

“We are taking action against those who renewed their passports with illegal stamps, in accordance with South Korean law,” said the embassy.

“The embassy is discussing the issue with the South Korea government ministries concerned to take action,” it added.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said it is aware of the matter and was checking the facts and legal aspects.

“If necessary, appropriate measures will be reviewed in consultation with relevant ministries,” the ministry told RFA on Wednesday.

RFA contacted the junta’s main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for comment but did not receive a reply by publication time.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted a government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, ending a decade of gradual reforms that had raised hopes for an end to decades of poverty and repression under the military.

People of all ages and walks of life took to the streets across the country to protest against the coup.

The military responded with bullets and large numbers of people fled to places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, either in fear of prison or looking for opportunities as the upheaval crippled the economy.

More fled military conscription enforced this year as junta forces struggled against ethnic minority insurgents and their new pro-democracy allies.

Thousands hope for new passports

Many of those who fled are now holding passports that are expiring, which junta-controlled embassies often refuse to renew, or only do so after detailed family background checks and if applicants sign pledges not to participate in politics.

Those without valid passports find it nearly impossible to renew visas to stay on in the countries where they are living.

So instead of relying on embassies, an increasing number of people in South Korea are turning to the NUG for passport renewals, a source close to the shadow government’s office in Seoul said.

“More than 500 people from Myanmar have renewed their passports through the NUG office. The number is expected to reach into the thousands,” said the source who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.

“More people are contacting the NUG office every day to prepare their documents for passport renewal. The number of applicants is growing steadily.”

In the weeks after Myanmar’s coup, South Korea created what is known as the G1-99 visa, allowing Myanmar people to stay on humanitarian grounds. But the Myanmar embassy initially refused to renew passports with that visa, said one Myanmar national in Soul.

“Later, they accepted this visa for an extension but applicants need to sign a pledge (not to engage in politics) to get the passport. So we opted for NUG’s passport renewal service,” said the Myanmar citizen who declined to be identified.

The NUG office in Seoul said on Sunday that it was protecting Myanmar citizens who opposed the junta as much as it could, in addition to working for the release of Myanmar people arrested in South Korea for violating visa rules.

The office said the passports it renewed were only valid to stay in South Korea.

Those facing no option but to go home, or being deported back, risk being forced into the military, numerous people have reported.

A Yangon-based job agent helping workers go to South Korea told RFA that the NUG’s passport renewal would only be a temporary fix and anyone hoping to return to Myanmar would face problems.

“The NUG passport will not be accepted by the junta. Having said that, it depends if individuals are staying long-term in South Korea,” he said.

“Those holding NUG passports can’t legally return home, as long as we’re under the military regime, but they can stay overseas.”

More than 70,000 Myanmar citizens are in South Korea under labor agreements between the two countries, according to media reports.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Taejun Kang.

RFA Korean’s Lee Jeongeun contributed to this report.