Skyline of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (image: Public Domain)
GWANGJU, June 14 (Korea Bizwire) — A regional court has ruled a Cambodian activist who led pro-democracy movements for his home country in South Korea should be granted refugee status, legal sources said Wednesday.
The district court in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, has sided with the Cambodian asylum-seeker and nullified the local immigration office’s decision not to recognize his refugee status.
The court cited concerns that he could face political persecution if returned home.
He entered South Korea with a nonprofessional work visa in 2015, and organized rallies and protests calling for political freedom in his country.
In 2019, he served as a leader of the youth wing of the South Korean chapter of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which had been banned by the Cambodian government.
A Cambodian court issued summonses to 68 CNRP activists abroad, including him, on charges of treason and incitement in November 2020.
He applied for refugee status in 2020, arguing he could face potential oppression from his home country.
But the Gwangju immigration authorities rejected the request, citing insufficient grounds to support his claim.
His subsequent appeal to the justice minister was also dismissed, and he filed an administrative lawsuit with the Gwangju court.
The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, noting he played an active and leading political role, enough to draw attention from the Cambodian government, and that he has a well-founded fear of persecution due to political opinion if he returns home.
(Yonhap)
