A refugee seeker speaks during an event by the National Human Rights Commission, in this undated photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Human Rights Commission called for giving multiple-time asylum applicants the same privileges as those enjoyed by first-time applicants as it marked World Refugee Day on Monday.
The commission pointed out that withholding work permits and other livelihood support for multiple-time asylum seekers constitutes “not only a breach of the state duty of protection but also violations of the non-refoulement principle and refugees’ rights.”
“The justice minister needs to come up with a process to provide minimum support necessary for reapplicants’ survival or work permits when the examination period for their refugee application is unnecessarily prolonged,” the commission said.
It also urged efforts to prevent unnecessary delays in the examination of refugee applications.
According to the justice ministry, South Korea saw a total of 2,341 applications for refugee status last year, of which 1,044 were by reapplicants. The average time taken for the examination of a refugee application was 17.3 months.
(Yonhap)
