Unidentified Yemeni asylum seekers leave the immigration office on the southern island of Jeju after receiving humanitarian stay permits on Sept. 14, 2018. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has decided to impose stricter measures to prevent abuse of refugee status applications with malicious intent to extend the duration of stay.
The Ministry of Justice announced the introduction of a newly amended refugee law Monday that will reject all reapplications for refugee status unless an exceptional reason is provided.
Any reapplications without a reasonable explanation may irreversibly deprive the applicant’s rights to be reviewed for refugee status.
If the reasons for applying for refugee status don’t comply with the definitions as stipulated in the Refugee Act, the application will be rejected.
Even in case of an appeal, the deliberations will take a fast track that will end within two months.
If an asylum seeker leaves the country without proper approval, it will be considered as an act of retracting his or her application for refugee status.
In addition, brokers encouraging asylum seekers to resort to illegal means of applying for refugee status will be subject to penalties including a maximum of two years in prison or 20 million won (US$18,300) in fines.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
