'We will both die if my father fails to earn refugee status'

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Sat, September 30, 2023 | 02:28

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'We will both die if my father fails to earn refugee status'

Posted : 2019-06-14 17:55

Updated : 2019-06-15 07:19

Iranian refugee Kim Min-hyuk, 16, holds a one-man demonstration in front of the Ministry of Justice at Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province, to call on the government to recognize his father as a refugee, Monday, a day prior to the father's interview for the refugee status. Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-heun

By Kim Jae-heun

A 16-year-old Iranian refugee, who goes by the Korean name Kim Min-hyuk here, held a one-man relay demonstration ― taking turns with his friends ― in front of the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province, where the Ministry of Justice is located, Monday, to call for the immigration authorities to also recognize his father as a refugee.

Kim came to Korea in July 2010 when he was seven years old along with his father who was running his own business here.

"I was very young then and I followed my friends to the church almost every week then," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday, after the demonstration. "I did not know anything about the religious beliefs in my home country and I told my aunt that I was going to church.

"She cursed at me and told me to never call her back. Later, I learned that in Iran, if you change your religion, you are a turncoat and you can be sentenced to death," Kim said.

Kim's middle school teacher Oh Hyun-rok, left, and Kim's friends pose with posters prior to their one-man relay demonstration in front of the justice ministry in the Gwacheon Government Complex, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

If he returns to Iran, death or other harsh punishment was well forecast for Kim and his father who both converted to Catholicism.

Kim learned about the refugee system here and both he and his father applied for it three years ago. The immigration authorities disapproved the request. He applied for the refugee status again last year with support from his friends and his middle school teacher Oh Hyun-rok, and obtained it in October.

Kim's friends posted a petition on Cheong Wa Dae's website requesting to provide Kim refugee status, and this played a crucial role.

This time, Kim and his friends gathered in front of the justice ministry to help his father earn his refugee title. His father was scheduled to undergo an interview by the immigration authorities the next day.

"My father came to Korea in 1988 but he still does not speak fluent Korean. But I believe he will do fine during the interview at the immigration office tomorrow because he is smart," said Kim.

"If he fails again this time, he will be deported and I will have to live alone here. That means we will both die. It is my dream to live with him in Korea," Kim added.

Kim appeared at the immigration office in Seoul with his father on Tuesday and held a one-man demonstration again while his father was undergoing the interview.

"Things have changed compared to the last time I underwent the interview and I prepared for this a lot," Kim's father, who wished not to be named, told The Korea Times in an email interview. "I am expecting a better result. Of course, my son and I are going through a difficult time but this is nothing if we could live together safe here."

The outcome of the interview will be available in two weeks at the earliest.

jhkim@koreatimes.co.kr