Ruling Cancelling Refusal to Recognize Refugee Status of Congolese Opposition Party Member

Who this helps

This may help people curious about how a court judged a refugee refusal where the applicant feared persecution because of political opinion.

Case overview

Case number

2014구합7916

Court

Seoul Administrative Court

Date of judgment

Nov 21, 2014 (Fri)

Topic

Refugees

Original title (Korean)

콩고 내의 야당 당원인 원고에게 정치적 의견을 이유로 박해를 받을 충분한 근거가 있는 공포가 있다고 보아…

A member of an opposition party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo applied for recognition as a refugee. A decision not to recognize refugee status was issued, and a lawsuit was filed seeking to cancel that decision.

Can a refugee refusal be cancelled when persecution is feared over political opinion?

A member of an opposition party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo applied for refugee status and was refused. The member then sued to cancel that decision. The question was whether the member had a well-founded fear of persecution because of political opinion. The court considered the prompt application after arrival, the consistent statements matching conditions in the country, and the crackdown on opposition supporters around the 2011 election. It found the member to be a refugee under the Immigration Act.

How the court ruled

The court cancelled the decision not to recognize refugee status. It found that the applicant applied for refugee status soon after entering the country, and that the applicant's statements were consistent and matched the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also considered that the human rights situation in the country remains poor and that the government suppressed opposition supporters around the 2011 elections. Taking these together, the court determined that the applicant is a refugee under the Immigration Control Act.

What to check in a similar situation

Refugee applications and refusal decisions can be checked with immigration and foreigner offices, and lawsuits challenging them with the courts.

• Find your immigration office
• Find support centers
• Contacts: Immigration Contact Center 1345

Terms explained

refugee refusal decision

An administrative decision made after review that refugee status will not be recognized. In this case the court cancelled it.

well-founded fear of persecution

A fear of persecution, for reasons such as political opinion, that rests on sufficient grounds. It was the key test for refugee status here.

cancellation of a decision

A court removes the effect of an administrative decision after finding it unlawful or improper.

More rulings on this topic

• Court upholds refusal of refugee status, finding a family property dispute is not a ground for recognition · Jeju District Court
• Ruling that upheld the cancellation of refugee status granted on the basis of false statements · Seoul Administrative Court
• Ruling Cancelling Decision Not to Refer Guinean National's Refugee Application for Examination · Busan District Court

See all 29 rulings on Refugees →

Frequently asked questions

Who filed the lawsuit?

A foreign national who is a member of an opposition party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sued to cancel the refusal to recognize refugee status.

How did the court rule?

The court cancelled the refusal. It weighed the timing of the application, the consistent statements, the human rights situation and the crackdown on opposition supporters, and found refugee status.

Does this result apply as is to similar cases?

No. This is the court's judgment in that case and does not apply as is to other cases.