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Foreigners residing in Korea who wish to be recognized as refugees are having difficulty in even submitting their applications.
To acquire the refugee status, foreigners are required to apply to the Immigration Control Office. Then the committee in charge of recognizing refugees (which is made up of seven departments including the Ministry of Justice) evaluates the applications and makes a decision. But the Immigration Control Office is intentionally refusing to take in applications and is thereby depriving the foreigners of even the chance to be evaluated.

"Accepting Applications is a Waste of Resources"

Mr. Buhan Mohammed who visited the Seoul Immigration Control Office (located at Mokdong in Yangchun-gu) last September went through a great deal of trouble just to submit his application for refugee status. The officer in charge asked him a few questions and refused to let him fill out an application, claiming that he does not qualify. When Kumsil Kang, lawyer who accompanied Mr. Mohammed protested, the officer replied, "Illegal aliens are taking advantage of the law that allows them to legally reside in Korea if their application is submitted, and this is why the office makes a primary evaluation through a simple interview process." The argument that lasted an hour finally ended when Kang told the officer that UN Refugee Management Office had requested Mr. Mohammed to submit an application. Then the application was finally accepted.

"If the applicants are treated this way even when accompanied by a lawyer, they would not be allowed to even fill out the application if they come alone," said Kang. He further pointed out, "The decision regarding the refugee status should be made by the committee. It violates both the international treaty and the national law of immigration control to allow the civil officials to reject applications." Civil Lawyer's International Committee (headed by Lawyer Chanwoon Park) agreed that such rejections are common and sent a complaint to the Minister of Justice, as well as urging the UN to take strong measures against the Korean government.

In spite of these criticisms, the Immigration Control Office said, "There are more than 120,000 illegal foreigners in Korea and letting all these people apply is a waste of resources." The office said that it would thus continue the process of limiting applicants. As a result, most foreigners in Korea are now in the danger of being forced to exile without even submitting applications.