Iranian who converted in Korea wins lawsuit to cancel refugee non-recognition decision

Who this helps

This may help people curious about how a court treated a refugee claim from a person who converted religion while staying in Korea without legal status. It covers only the facts of this one case.

Case overview

Case number

2017구합67316

Court

Suwon District Court

Posted on original board

Mar 13, 2018 (Tue)

Topic

Refugees

Original title (Korean)

한국 체류중 이슬람교에서 기독교로 개종한 이란인 불법체류자를 난민으로 인정한…

An Iranian converted from Islam to Christianity while staying in Korea. This person was caught staying in Korea illegally and received a deportation order, and then applied for refugee status. After the decision not to recognize refugee status was issued, a lawsuit was filed asking for that decision to be canceled.

Can a refugee denial be cancelled when someone converted religion while in Korea?

An Iranian man converted from Islam to Christianity while staying in Korea. He was found staying unlawfully and received a deportation order. He then applied for refugee status and was denied, so he filed a lawsuit to cancel that denial. The court found a risk of physical and mental harm if he were deported to Iran, and ruled in his favor.

How the court ruled

The court found that if the person were forcibly deported to Iran, there would be a risk of exposure to physical and mental harm. Therefore, the plaintiff won the case to cancel the refugee non-recognition decision.

What to check in a similar situation

Details on how refugee applications, denial decisions and deportation orders are handled can be checked with the immigration office and the court that hears the case.

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

Terms explained

Refugee non-recognition decision

An official decision that an applicant does not qualify as a refugee. In this case, the applicant sued to have it cancelled.

Deportation order

An order requiring a foreign national to leave the country. Here it was issued after the man was found staying unlawfully.

Cancellation lawsuit

A lawsuit asking a court to cancel an administrative decision. The court cancelled the denial in this case.

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?

An Iranian man who had been staying in Korea unlawfully and converted from Islam to Christianity while here. He sued after his refugee application was denied.

How did the court rule?

The court recognized a risk of physical and mental harm if he were deported to Iran. It ruled for the plaintiff in the suit to cancel the refugee denial.

Does this result apply to every similar case?

No. It is the court's judgment in this one case and does not apply as is to other cases.