South Korean to sue immigration directorate

JAKARTA (JP): A South Korean businessman plans to sue the immigration directorate for arresting him on Jan. 12 and trying to deport him on allegations that he was a member of a dangerous criminal group.

Young Jin Kim, accompanied by lawyer Otto Hasibuan, said on Thursday that the directorate, through a letter dated Jan. 12, ordered its officers to arrest him on allegations that he was a member of the Japanese Red Beret organization.

"We regretted that the allegation was made without deep investigation," said Kim, who was released the day after the arrest.

He said he planned to file a lawsuit against the immigration directorate at the Jakarta Administrative Court.

He said he thought the arrest was made because of a business dispute with his partners in shoe company PT Pratama Abadi Nusantara, a producer of Nike shoes in Tangerang, which had a total investment of US$2.85 million in 1989.

Kim said his dispute with the firm was still being examined in the Supreme Court when he was without warning arrested on Jan. 12.

The immigration office's spokesman, Mursanudin A. Ghani, confirmed on Thursday that Kim was arrested because of fears for the country's safety.

"Whatever he said, we will deport him because he is dangerous to this country," Ghani told The Jakarta Post.

He refused to give further details on the case.

"How could I be a dangerous man. My wife and my son are Indonesians. I have lived here for almost eight years," Kim said.

He said that he was arrested and deported by immigration officers on Dec. 10 last year for allegedly violating his work permit.

He returned to the country after ensuring all his documents were in order. (jun)