Appeals by foreign asylum seekers denied recognition as refugees in South Korea rose sharply this year.
According to the Seoul Administrative Court Wednesday, there were 99 such appeals as of the end of August, 10 times more than that during the same period of last year.
The Justice Ministry has a final say on whether to grant asylum and refugee applicants can appeal to the Seoul Administrative Court within three months if their applications are turned down.
The appeals remained at seven in 2005, 21 in 2006, 22 in 2007, and 15 in 2008.
"Most of refugee applicants who have their requests turned down tend to appeal because law enforcement is withheld until the case is concluded once they apply for recognition," a ministry official said.
The increased figure may also have to do with expedited processing with the opening of a refugee department at the Seoul Immigration Office, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"As the immigration office augmented the refugee department this year, the backed-up applications were processed in bundles," the official was quoted as saying.
South Korea joined the U.N. Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees in 1992. Since then, 2,413 foreigners have applied for refugee status and 145 were granted asylum. The first approval took place in 2001 for an Ethiopian male.