Russian asylum-seekers stranded in Incheon airport

From left, Andrey (an alias), Dzhashar Khubiev and Vladimir Maraktaev stand in the departures hall at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 3. The three are among five Russian men who arrived in Korea fleeing the Russian government's mobilization order to the war in Ukraine. The men are currently staying in the departure waiting room within the airport's duty free area after the Korean government rejected their refugee application. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Justice ministry says avoiding military draft in one's home country is not valid reason for granting refugee status

By Lee Hyo-jin

Vladimir Maraktaev celebrated the first day of 2023 in the departures hall at Incheon International Airport, some 2,000 kilometers away from his home in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. It was the first time for the 23-year-old to spend New Year's Eve alone without family and friends.

Instead of family gatherings and holiday feasts, he bought himself a cup of coffee for 5,000 won ($4) ― a luxury for Maraktaev who now has only a few dollars left in his pocket, having spent almost all of his savings traveling across three countries before arriving in Korea.

The sophomore at Buryatia State University majoring in linguistics is among the tens of thousands of young Russian men to escape the country following President Vladimir Putin's mass mobilization order at the end of September to draft men into combat in the war with Ukraine.

"I left home the night of Sept. 24, a few hours after I received the conscription notice. I decided to leave as soon as possible because they might come to get me in the morning," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the airport.

"I find it nothing to be ashamed of to defend my country. I would volunteer (to fight) if someone attacks us and put my loved ones in danger," said Maraktaev, adding that he already completed the compulsory one-year of military service in 2019. "But it's a totally different story when my own country is the aggressor. I will never take weapons to go and kill innocent people in Ukraine."

That night, Maraktaev jumped into a car with others in the neighborhood who were also called up to join the army. They crossed the border to Mongolia and drove further to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. From there, Maraktaev took a flight to Manila in the Philippines, where he was able to stay for several weeks.

He then bought a plane ticket to Incheon and landed on Korean soil on Nov. 12, expecting the country to be a haven from war.

Andrey, Dzhashar Khubiev and Vladimir Maraktaev walk in the transit zone of Incheon Airport, Jan. 3. The three spend most of their time wandering around the departures hall or in the departure waiting room in the airport's duty free area. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

"Although I don't have any connections with South Korea, I knew that it is a very developed country in terms of democracy and civil rights," he said, when asked why he specifically chose to flee to Korea. "The news that a former (Korean) president was sentenced to prison for corruption crimes blew my mind. We could never imagine a leader facing trial in Russia."

He applied for refugee status at Incheon International Airport, but the Korean government rejected his application in the pre-assessment stage, which means that he is not eligible to advance further through the screening process.

Under Korea's refugee laws, asylum-seekers may apply for refugee status at a port of entry and go through an interview for pre-assessment. If the immigration authorities find their reasons valid, the applicants may undergo further screening. If not, they are likely to be repatriated.

In 2021, Korea's rate of acceptance for refugees was 1.3 percent, the second-lowest of the G-20 countries.

Maraktaev is one of the five men of Russian nationality facing a similar situation at Korea's main airport. Their refugee applications have been rejected by the Ministry of Justice, which views that avoiding military draft is not a valid reason to be screened as a refugee.

Living for months in the departure waiting room within the airport's duty free area, the Russian asylum-seekers survive on food provided by the Ministry of Justice: a muffin and a pack of juice for breakfast and dinner, and rice with chicken for lunch.

A man in his 30s who wished to be identified only by the name Andrey, from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, has been living there more than 80 days since he arrived in Incheon on Oct. 14.

Andrey, who, in his own words has been fiercely protesting Putin's "corrupt" regime since long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said he had no other choice but to flee after he received the conscription notice.

The conscription notice from the Russian government that Andrey received at the end of September / Courtesy of Andrey

"I've participated in multiple anti-government rallies. Once the police arrested me and beat me during an hours-long interrogation session. I had to get a surgery for my broken chin and nose," he said. "I knew I would be thrown to the frontlines (in the Ukraine war) because I'm on their blacklist."

Like many other Russian men fleeing Putin's military mobilization order, he first traveled to Kazakhstan by train. But following rumors that the Central Asian country, one of Russia's closest allies, was planning to send such men back, he decided to flee to somewhere farther away.

"I really miss my wife and son. But for now, I can't return to them. I hope that Korea will help me stay here at least until the war is over," he said.

Dzhashar Khubiev, 31, a former football player from Nalchik, the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic in the North Caucasus, said he was lucky enough to escape Russia and avoid the fate of his acquaintances and friends who were killed in the war.

Dzhashar Khubiev speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in the departures hall at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 3. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

"Literally two days ago, nearly 400 Russian soldiers were killed at Makiivka (in eastern Ukraine). Two of them were my acquaintances. I am still in shock," he said. "Under Russian laws, I'm not even eligible for military conscription. But in November, people from the military came to my home and forced me to sign a document that I would be considered a deserter if I didn't show up for the military in a few days."

With the help of public lawyers, the five men have filed a complaint to the Incheon Administrative Court against the justice ministry, calling on it to nullify its non-referral decision.

Their legal representative, Lee Jong-chan of the Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), argued that evading military service in the context of war should be considered a valid reason for granting asylum status.

"These men face persecution in their home country based on their perceived political opinion, which qualifies them for asylum status in accordance with international standards. The ministry should be well aware of that," he said.

Persecution based on "perceived political opinion" means that people can become targets of political persecution not just for the opinions they actually hold, but also for opinions that their persecutors impute to them.

According to Lee, the court ruling is expected to be issued at the end of this month.

If the court sides with the Russian men, they will be issued G-1 visas, which will guarantee them a temporary stay in Korea until they go through an official refugee screening process. If the court rules against them, the asylum-seekers will likely be deported to their home country.

Workers remove the debris of a destroyed building said to be a vocational college used as temporary accommodations for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike, as stated previously by Russia's defense ministry, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine war in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine, Jan. 4. Reuters-Yonhap

The justice ministry, for its part, told The Korea Times that it had reviewed their refugee applications in accordance with relevant laws.

"The screening procedures were handled in accordance with the rules stipulated in the Refugee Act, which was enacted based on international standards for refugee screening and overseas cases in developed countries," it said in a statement, refuting claims from civic groups that it is "detaining" or "abandoning" asylum-seekers in the airport's departures area in an apparent move to deport them.

It also explained that refugee applications submitted in the port of entry are processed in a "balanced" manner in regards to border management and the human rights of asylum-seekers.

Jeong Jae-won, a professor of Eurasian studies at Kookmin University, viewed that the issue should be handled with prudence.

"Some may be concerned that accepting anti-war asylum-seekers could negatively influence our diplomatic relations with Russia. But considering that Russia already designated Korea as an 'unfriendly nation' after we joined the international sanctions against Moscow last year, I don't think accepting these five people will make much of a difference in the relations between the two sides," he said.

"But at the same time, the government should be careful since setting a precedent could lead to a surge of asylum-seekers in the future."

Jeong went on to say that it would be best if the Korean government grants refugee status to the Russian men from a humanitarian perspective. "But if it decides not to, the government should at least avoid deporting them back to Russia, where they will face harsh punishment, and allow them to travel to another country."

Vladimir Maraktaev walks in the departures hall at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 3. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Regarding the Russians' situation, the Seoul representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commented that "individuals seeking international protection at borders ― all persons seeking asylum at the border ― should be able to effectively exercise the right to seek and enjoy asylum and are protected against forcible return."

The agency also said it is keenly following up with the Korean government's commendable efforts to improve reception conditions and treatment of asylum-seekers at airports, noting that it will closely cooperate with the authorities to enhance its capacity to assess asylum applications at airports.