diff --git a/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_extraction b/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_extraction
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d2a3eaedd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_extraction
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Tests extraction of symlink, hardlink and regular files to a path that is a non-empty directory
+FROM gcr.io/kaniko-test/extraction-base-image:latest
diff --git a/pkg/util/fs_util.go b/pkg/util/fs_util.go
index f755b335a..ef16ceb57 100644
--- a/pkg/util/fs_util.go
+++ b/pkg/util/fs_util.go
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ func extractFile(dest string, hdr *tar.Header, tr io.Reader) error {
 		// Check if something already exists at path (symlinks etc.)
 		// If so, delete it
 		if FilepathExists(path) {
-			if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+			if err := os.RemoveAll(path); err != nil {
 				return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing %s to make way for new file.", path)
 			}
 		}
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func extractFile(dest string, hdr *tar.Header, tr io.Reader) error {
 		// Check if something already exists at path
 		// If so, delete it
 		if FilepathExists(path) {
-			if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+			if err := os.RemoveAll(path); err != nil {
 				return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing %s to make way for new link", hdr.Name)
 			}
 		}
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ func extractFile(dest string, hdr *tar.Header, tr io.Reader) error {
 		// Check if something already exists at path
 		// If so, delete it
 		if FilepathExists(path) {
-			if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+			if err := os.RemoveAll(path); err != nil {
 				return errors.Wrapf(err, "error removing %s to make way for new symlink", hdr.Name)
 			}
 		}