An Iranian-born teenager (R) who obtained refugee status in South Korea last year speaking to reporters in front of a Seoul immigration office after the office denied refugee status for his father (C) on Aug. 8, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Friends and civil groups advocating for an Iranian boy who obtained refugee status in South Korea called on the National Assembly to crack down on immigration authorities following the decision to reject an application for refugee status from the boy’s father.
Civil groups and graduates of Aju Middle School, the Iranian boy’s alma mater, held a press conference on Thursday in front of the National Assembly.
“The National Assembly should thoroughly investigate the works of the Ministry of Justice and the immigration authorities and shed light on the process in which the refugee application of the Iranian boy’s father was rejected,” they said.
They blamed the ministry and immigration authorities for making an absurd decision by granting refugee status to the son, while rejecting the father.
“Authorities have ignored the fact that the father and son, who converted to Catholicism, are likely to be persecuted if they are sent back to Iran,” they said.
“The ministry and immigration authorities are sacrificing 99 refugees to find one bogus applicant, and see the process of granting refugee status as a means of rejecting them, not protecting them.”
The Iranian boy obtained refugee status thanks to the help of his friends and a petition to the Blue House.
His father, however, has been rejected, and instead obtained a humanitarian stay permit which only allows him to stay for another year.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
