Appellate court rules in favor of asylum seeker

Lawyers and civic group members hold a press conference in front of the Seoul High Court, Wednesday, after the court ruled in favor of an asylum seeker. The lawyers said the government should guarantee the man's right to make a refugee application. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

An appellate court in Seoul ruled in favor of an asylum seeker, saying it was illegal for the Korean government to reject his refugee application simply because Korea was not his final destination but a transfer point.

The Seoul High Court issued the ruling Wednesday as the man, whose nationality was not revealed, had filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice.

The latest ruling came after the ministry lodged an appeal following its loss in a lower court trial last June.

After arriving at Incheon International Airport in February last year, the man tried to apply for refugee status, saying that he had suffered political persecution in his home country and that about 10 of his family members and acquaintances had been killed there.

The airport's immigration service under the justice ministry, however, rejected his application, saying a transfer passenger was unqualified to enter the country and thus ineligible to make the refugee application, which it said should be made only at an immigration checkpoint at the airport. The man was not granted passage beyond the transit zone.

Following the rejection, the man remained in the airport transit zone for 14 months and slept on a sofa there.

The Korea Refugee Rights Network, which has supported the man's legal battle against the government, welcomed the latest court ruling, calling on the ministry to guarantee his opportunity of going through a screening procedure for his refugee application.

“I hope the ministry will not inflict more pain on the man by appealing the case at the Supreme Court,” lawyer Lee Il said during a press conference held after the court ruling. “The ministry should apologize to him.”

The man is currently staying in an accommodation offered by the civic group to comply with the government's 14-day self-isolation rule applied to foreign entrants, after the Incheon District Court, April 13, acknowledged his status as an “internee” and temporarily lifted the status so that he can receive medical treatment at a local hospital.