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Yemeni Asylum Seekers Denied Refuge in South Korea

Yemeni Asylum Seekers Denied Refuge in South Korea
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_time5 years ago
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Local Editor

South Korea denied refugee status but granted temporary stay permits to hundreds of Yemenis seeking asylum in the South Korean island of Jeju this year, the Ministry of Justice announced on Wednesday.

More than 500 Yemenis sought refuge in South Korea between January and May, having fled the war that has engulfed their homeland.

Relatively, the influx of asylum seekers to South Korea - which has only granted refugee status to 839 of 40,470 applicants from various countries since 1994, not including defectors from North Korea - sparked a backlash and led to the government tightening immigration laws in June.

A total of 481 Yemenis have applied for asylum, with 362 granted temporary humanitarian stay permits, the ministry said in a statement.

Most of the Yemenis flew into the resort island of Jeju, where they have largely been blocked from leaving for mainland South Korea.

On June 1, South Korea dropped Yemen from a list of countries whose citizens do not require a visa when entering the country.

Under the humanitarian stay permits, the refugees will be able to leave Jeju.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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