Number of Russian asylum seekers in Q1 exceeds whole of 2022

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 09:02

Society

Number of Russian asylum seekers in Q1 exceeds whole of 2022

Posted : 2023-04-30 15:03

Updated : 2023-05-01 13:51

Riot police detain demonstrators during a protest against mobilization in Moscow, Russia, in this Sept. 21, 2022 photo. AP-Yonhap

By Lee Hae-rin

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Korea saw a significant increase in the number of Russian asylum seekers in the first quarter surpassing the total number for last year, a government report found Sunday.

According to the latest monthly report by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the number of Russian nationals who sought refugee status in Korea from January to March of this year stood at 1,056 out of 4,057 asylum seekers, accounting for a quarterly-record 26 percent. Last year, a total of 1,038 Russians applied for refugee status.

Next to Russians were Kazakhs with 585, Chinese with 240 and Indians with 200.

The dramatic increase is believed to be due to growing concerns among Russians over the possible mobilization of citizens for Moscow's war against Kyiv, the report noted.

Last year five Russian men arrived at Incheon International Airport in order to evade Russian President Vladimir Putin's mass mobilization order to support his government's war on Ukraine. They applied for refugee status. But the immigration authority refused to consider their requests, claiming that avoiding a military draft in one's home country is not a valid reason to be granted refugee status.

However, in February, a local court ordered the Incheon Immigration Office to review refugee applications submitted by two Russian men.

Korea started receiving refugees in July 1994 after signing the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1992.

Since 1994, a total of 88,979 have applied for refugee status in Korea as of March. Only 8.1 percent of the 47,735 applicants that received final judgments from the justice ministry are protected under the Korean government ― 1,363 with refugee status and 2,511 with humanitarian stay permits.

The country's refugee acceptance rate stands at 2.9 percent, which is significantly lower than the OECD's average of 24.8 percent.

Most foreign nationals applied for refugee status out of concern for possible persecution back at home for religious or political reasons ― 19,064 and 16,771, respectively.

lhr@koreatimes.co.kr