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| Members of Korea Refugee Rights Network, including a lawyer with Advocates for Public Interest Law, the legal representative of two Russian men who filed a complaint calling on the Ministry of Justice to nullify its non-referral decision on their refugee applications, speak during a press conference after a court ruling at Incheon District Court, Feb. 14. Newsis |
By Ko Dong-hwan
The Ministry of Justice in Korea said, Wednesday, it decided to appeal a recent ruling by a local court in favor of Russian men seeking refugee status after fleeing the military draft in their home country that has been engaged in a war against Ukraine.
Three Russians had sought asylum in Korea, but the ministry rejected their requests, prompting them to file complaints against the Incheon Immigration Office. On Feb. 14, the Incheon District Court ordered the immigration authority to review refugee applications submitted by two of the Russians, while dismissing a complaint filed by another man who was in a similar situation.
The ministry said it cannot accept as refugees the two Russians who had won the legal case, due to the precedent it would leave on the country's immigration office and set an example for future asylum seekers to Korea.
The ministry said that if the two Russians, aged 34 and 38, were granted refugee status, it will attract many other asylum seekers fleeing from conscription in their own countries.
The ministry said its decision was based on past rulings by the country's Supreme Court and legal standards of international judiciary circles, which stated that refusals of conscription cannot constitute the sole ground for acknowledging refugee status.
The three Russians arrived at Incheon International Airport last September after the Russian government started conscripting civilians to fight in Ukraine. They filed for refugee status at the immigration office at the airport. The justice ministry, which oversees the country's immigration affairs, rejected them, saying they were seeking asylum simply to overcome financial hardships, which is not a legitimate reason to be granted refugee status.
The Russians filed a lawsuit to nullify the ministry's decision. During the legal process, they had been living inside the airport for over four months.
Judge Lee Eun-shin at the Incheon District Court, who oversaw the case, said the Russians could be persecuted if they return to their home country for refusing to be conscripted. He said they need be examined further by the justice ministry through a more careful vetting process to decide whether Korea should allow them to settle here.
The ministry has placed the two Russians at the immigration office support center at Yeongjong Island in Incheon to let them prepare for further legal steps.
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