A dual citizen from South Korea.
Junseo Hagh, 21, was sentenced to nine months in prison after declaring himself guilty of returning to Canada without authorization and not appearing for an exam to determine if he was allowed to return to Canada.
The sentence is equivalent to the time fulfilled with credit for custody prior to the trial. Hagh will actually turn six.
Hagh first arrived in Canada in February 2016 with a study permit, but his legal immigration state expired in February 2021.
Since December 2022, Hagh, who also passes through Ethan, has violated six deportation orders, according to the facts presented by the Prosecutor of the Crown Michelle Liu in a joint presentation of sentences.
The United States immigration lawyer, Christine Jurusik, says she is alarmed that an American citizen has been able to return to Canada on numerous occasions in violation of repeated deportation orders, but says that her case is an anomaly.
The most recent incident, for which Hagh was accused on Monday, was January 8, 2025.
He was removed from Canada and put a flight to Los Angeles International Airport.
Less than 24 hours after his plane landed, on January 9, the United States border patrol agents watched Hagh in the United States but near the border to Canada.
The agents warned him to move away from the border, but later at night they saw him enter Canada, according to Liu. The facts did not specify how or where Hagh entered in Canada.
On January 10, a police officer met Hagh at the Lougheed Town Center shopping center in Burnaby, BC, and contacted the Canada Border Services Agency.
He was arrested at the mall on January 15 by a CBSA officer. It was found with five rounds of 9 mm ammunition on it, as well as a receipt for two types of ammunition from a Bellingham effort.
Defensor lawyer Roy Kim said Hagh has a stress disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, which makes it “spit incessantly” and pointed out that he also suffers from micro-bocas.
Kim said Hagh can only consume liquids and not solid, which caused his time in custody to be “exceptionally difficult and challenging.”
Kim said Hagh understands that he can no longer enter and reside in Canada illegally and added that he has been specifically dissuaded by his time in custody.
“He is completely regretted by his actions … I maintain that this court will not see Mr. Hagh in the future.”
Kim said he understands that CBSA will deport Hagh to South Korea after the sentence.
“He is prepared to start a new life in South Korea.”
While his parents, who live in Los Angeles, will support him financially, Kim said Hagh does not want to live near them.
“Mr. Hagh does not want to reside with them or near them, or in the same country, because he is afraid of being closely monitored by his parents.”
Kim added that if Hagh is deported to the United States, “immediately” the paperwork would begin to move to South Korea.
Judge James Sutherland supported the joint submission.
He said that entering the guilt statements was an attenuating factor in the sentence, as well as Hagh’s mental and physical challenges, while his “poor” record with numerous deportation orders was an aggravating factor.
The judge said Hagh was sentenced twice last year for the same positions and spent time in jail both occasions.
“Good luck, Mr. Hagh,” said Sutherland.
