Today, Administrative Division No. 1 of the Incheon District Court cancelled, in favor of two of the three plaintiffs, the disposition of the head of the Incheon Airport Immigration Office, who had refused to grant an opportunity for screening to the refugee applications of three Russian refugees who escaped to Korea to avoid forced conscription, calling their applications last autumn manifestly unfounded. It has been a full four and a half months since the refugees fled the mobilization order to Incheon Airport in Korea.
It is deeply regrettable that the court judged differently for one of the refugees on a question that is open to dispute, but we warmly welcome that the judiciary, despite the refusal of the immigration authorities, prevented the refoulement at the border of the Russian refugees who refused mobilization for the war, and confirmed their rightful opportunity to be screened as refugees.
Because of the unlawful disposition made by Korea’s immigration authorities, refugees who opposed an unjust war and sought proper protection from the Korean government as a place of refuge were absurdly told that they were “by no means refugees,” and were kept confined, moving from the departure waiting room to the transit area of Incheon Airport, spending their time at the airport filled with humiliation and inhumane treatment.
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea repudiates wars of aggression and states that the country strives to maintain international peace, and Korea takes pride in a modern history in which it has developed freedom and democracy after overcoming the pain of war.
The refugees who sought protection from the Korean government simply refused to kill and refused to take part in the war. Those who refused to become instruments of killing by taking part in Russia’s aggression and war, which the international community criticizes, left the battlefield and became refugees.
The Russian refugees who were confined at Incheon Airport came to Korea believing in the values of freedom, peace and democracy that the Republic of Korea pursues, but the Korean government turned its back on them. It can only be interpreted that, toward refugees who have the right to refuse an unjust war, the Korean government has in the end tacitly approved the war now under way as legitimate. This is why numerous foreign media outlets, puzzled, have not stopped reporting, and why citizens have criticized the Korean government’s handling.
Although four and a half months spent in fear and dread, and in separation from family, can hardly be made up for in any way, we, as members of Korean civil society defending the human rights and peace of Russian refugees who refuse conscription, welcome today’s judgment cancelling the unlawful actions of the immigration authorities, and we make the following demands of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Korea, who is responsible for carrying it out.
First, the Minister of Justice must respect the court’s judgment and immediately grant the opportunity to the refugees as refugee applicants. If the Ministry of Justice appeals this judgment, it will continue to assert the mistaken position that the issue is not whether they are refugees but that they are not even entitled to an opportunity for refugee status determination, and will prolong the harsh time for the refugees.
Second, the Minister of Justice must withdraw the unlawful screening standard that calls Russian refugees who fled in opposition to the war after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mere draft evaders and condemns the political right to oppose Russia’s war of aggression.
Third, the Minister of Justice must withdraw the refoulement at the border aimed at deterring Russian refugee applicants, release all Russian refugee applicants who refused mobilization from detention at Incheon Airport, and permit them to enter the country.
Fourth, the Minister of Justice must apologize for the unjust treatment of all Russian refugees in Korea who refused mobilization for the war, and must immediately grant them refugee status in accordance with international norms after screening.
Organized by: (provisional name) Korean Civil Society Organizations Defending the Human Rights and Peace of Russian Refugees Who Refuse Conscription
