Court opens door for father of Iranian refugee to gain same status

Iranian refugee Kim Min-hyuk, right, and his father speak during a press conference at Seoul Immigration Office in Yangcheon District in this Aug. 8, 2019, photo. Korea Times photo by Hong In-kee

By Nam Hyun-woo

A 55-year-old Iranian man, whose son gained refugee status in Korea, is also expected to gain the same status following a court ruling Friday.

The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the man, who sought the reversal of an order by the Seoul Immigration Office rejecting his application for refugee status.

The man and his son arrived in Korea in 2010 with temporary stay permits and both became Catholics five years later.

Muslims who convert to another religion are charged as criminals in Iran and face harsh punishment including possible execution.

They applied for refugee status in May 2016, because they would face harsh punishment upon returning to Iran. But the Korea Immigration Service rejected their appeal, citing doubts about their Catholic faith.

They filed a lawsuit to obtain refugee status, but lost. An appeals court also rejected their case, turning down their claim that they would face harsh punishment back in Iran.

The story gained public attention in 2018, and his son, 18, who uses the Korean name, Kim Min-hyuk, was granted refugee status in October that year amid support from his schoolfriends and local Catholics.

However, his father again failed to be acknowledged as a refugee, but did gain an extension of his stay on humanitarian grounds. He filed another lawsuit with the administrative court, arguing that his conversion to Catholicism has been already widely known through media reports and that the Iranian government is paying close attention to his return.

In Friday's ruling, the court said it acknowledged there were sufficient grounds for fears over religious persecution if he returned to Iran.

“There is also humanitarian necessity to grant him refugee status based on the principle of not separating family members,” the court said, adding the father is Kim's only family member, because other relatives in Iran severed ties with them after they converted.