 |
South Korea's Ministry of Justice announced on March 1st that it had filed an appeal against the first-instance decision to revoke the decision not to review the status of refugee status of two Russian asylum seekers. This is due to concerns that similar cases of refugee applications may occur one after another in the future.
On February 14th, a judge at the Incheon District Court said in a lawsuit filed by three Russians that they wanted them to undergo refugee screening, saying, "We must give two of the three the opportunity to be screened for refugee status."
The judge said, "The refusal of conscription can be evaluated as an expression of a political opinion, and can be seen as a cause of persecution."
However, the lawsuit was dismissed against one of the plaintiffs, saying, "Despite the possibility of receiving the protection of a country with a second nationality, he did not request protection."
In response, the Ministry of Justice is dissatisfied with the Incheon District Court's first-instance decision to revoke the decision not to postpone the refugee recognition examination. The Ministry of Justice countered, saying, "The Supreme Court and international norms say that 'simply refusing to be drafted cannot be grounds for recognition of refugee status.'"
"There is a risk that immigration screening will be reduced to a formality, and that the airport's border control function will be hampered," adding that "it takes into account both the national interests of the Republic of Korea and the principle of humanitarianism."
Russia conscripts all men under the age of 60 with no criminal record. Since the conscription order was announced in September last year, Russians have fled the country, and it is estimated that about 200,000 people have emigrated to neighboring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Europe.
Five men also entered South Korea, but have reportedly been effectively 'homeless' at Incheon airport for months due to the refusal to accept refugees.
2023/03/06 10:00 KST
