By Bae Hyun-jung

THE Justice Ministry announced yesterday it had expelled two people in the month since a legal revision permanently banning foreign sex offenders from the country went into effect.

The ministry has revised the immigration control law last month to tighten regulations on sex offenders.

Under the new rule, the government will permanently deny entry to foreigners convicted of sex offenses, regardless of when and where their crimes were committed.

Foreign nationals will be expelled immediately if they have been convicted of sex crimes and will be permanently banned from returning.

People deported for crimes are usually denied reentry for up to five years, a figure which can be extended through a retrial.

The move came the nation hardens its crackdown on sex crimes.

The number of rapes committed by foreign nationals here last year rose by 11 percent from the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.

The number of foreigners residing here exceeded 1.1 million as of last May.

"There have been cases in which persons deported for sex offenses attempted to illegally reenter the country," said a ministry official.

The NPA, together with other government departments, launched a joint task force in October to crack down on foreigners' crimes, focusing on drug and sex offenses.

The government also submitted a revision proposal which would obligate foreigners to have their photos and fingerprints taken beginning 2012. The revision bill is currently pending at the National Assembly.