Calls grow for oversight of study abroad agencies as mishandling of cases leads to no visas, wasted money
Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 13:00
Updated: 02 Apr. 2026, 18:26
![A promotional leaflet for the study abroad agency that Park Gwan-woo used to request help with his visa application [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/02/dd3f4e06-6ffd-4129-97f6-4af2268895e7.jpg)
A promotional leaflet for the study abroad agency that Park Gwan-woo used to request help with his visa application [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Many people trying to study or train abroad via study abroad agencies have ended up wasting their time and money after the agencies mishandled their cases, with some even becoming illegal residents overseas.
Critics of the process argue that clients are being left in a regulatory blind spot because there is no system in place to oversee these agencies.
Park Gwan-woo, who had been staying in Australia on a working holiday visa since September 2022, asked a study abroad agency to handle his student visa application in March 2025, six months before his visa was set to expire.
After reviewing the documents that Park had prepared, the agency assured him that “this should be enough to get the visa issued.”
Park, dreaming of becoming a chef, felt reassured and began preparing to enroll in culinary school in October of that year. As per the agency’s instructions, he took language classes and passed an English-language certification exam.
But in September 2025, the agency informed him that the visa had not been issued, as it had made a mistake with the timing of the application. The news came a day after Park's existing visa expired, rendering him an illegal resident.
Park quit the restaurant that same day, gave up on the culinary school he had been admitted to and returned to Korea two days later. “I had to rush back with only two T-shirts,” Park said. “The rest of my belongings are still in Australia.”
![A KakaoTalk conversation between a study abroad agency representative and Park Gwan-woo in September 2025 [PARK KWAN-WOO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/02/5260b371-89ca-4162-8b64-922f9fcc5808.jpg)
A KakaoTalk conversation between a study abroad agency representative and Park Gwan-woo in September 2025 [PARK KWAN-WOO]
The agency acknowledged its responsibility and covered the cost of Park’s return flight and offered to pay for an immigration lawyer if he reapplies for a student visa. An agency representative told the JoongAng Ilbo that the staff member in charge of Park’s case had apologized to him and that the agency had done its best to resolve the situation.
Park, however, argues that the agency is paying for costs that he would never have incurred had it not made the mistake. He plans to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for additional damages over the disruption to his studies and career.
![[KOREA CONSUMER AGENCY]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/02/5045ce37-9d33-4fcd-8880-0ae1cca52077.jpg)
[KOREA CONSUMER AGENCY]
As more people go abroad for study through such agencies, the number of incidents similar to Park’s is increasing. Consumer relief cases involving overseas training brokerages rose from four in 2022 to six in 2023, seven in 2024 and 11 in 2025, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. Those involving overseas study brokerages increased from 34 in 2022 to 38 in 2023, 41 in 2024 and 44 in 2025.
Some customers paid tens of millions of won to study abroad agencies, only to fail to obtain visas and then fail to recover the agency fees. In 2025, for example, the Korea Consumer Agency received a complaint from a consumer who paid approximately 10 million won ($6,600) to an agency for counseling on studying in Canada but failed to obtain a student visa and received no refund.
According to critics, these disputes continue to happen because there is effectively no system to manage or supervise these agencies. Anyone can open a study abroad agency as long as they have the means to register a business. Even the Ministry of Education, which oversees schools and private academies, has no duty to supervise such agencies.
![A speaker from Club Immigration, a U.S. investment immigration specialist firm, speaks during a session at the firm's headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/02/a60a2c46-a132-4e55-8427-52512ace5a77.jpg)
A speaker from Club Immigration, a U.S. investment immigration specialist firm, speaks during a session at the firm's headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]
“Managing study abroad agencies is not under the Ministry of Education’s jurisdiction,” a ministry official explained. “We do not even know how many agencies there are in Korea or how many students are staying overseas illegally.”
Additionally, no law explicitly governs study abroad agencies or assigns any specific institution to oversee them. A representative from a study abroad association explained that, unlike language institutes that directly teach students, study abroad agencies mainly provide services such as counseling and visa and admissions assistance.
Consequently, study abroad agencies are classified as service providers rather than educational institutions and are not subject to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons.
The representative added that when people file complaints related to study abroad agencies, they are advised to seek help from the Korea Consumer Agency.
A bill introduced in 2013 by then-liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho and others to strengthen oversight of such agencies was scrapped before reaching a plenary vote.
“Because study abroad agencies sit in a legal blind spot, when a dispute arises, the best option [for victims] for now is to file a civil suit seeking damages,” said attorney Shin Hyun-jun of the law firm The Will. “Given that going overseas through a study abroad agency is hardly rare, there needs to be a legal and institutional framework to properly regulate [these agencies] and protect users’ rights.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE GYU-RIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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