ID :
201569
Tue, 08/16/2011 - 11:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/201569
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea forecast to see record-high number of asylum seekers this year
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- The number of asylum seekers in South Korea is expected to hit a record high this year due mainly to an increased inflow stemming from expanding regional conflicts and political unrest in Central Asia, a Justice Ministry report said Tuesday.
A total of 386 foreigners applied for refugee status in the country during the first half of the year, compared with 423 recorded for all of 2010 and 324 for 2009, according to the Ministry of Justice's data.
The country is projected to have a record-high number of foreigners seeking refugee status this year if the current pace of refugee applications continues into the second half, the report showed.
A combined 717 foreigners applied for refugee status in 2007, the highest annual amount so far since the ministry first accepted such applications in 1994, according to the report, released by NANCEN, a local non-governmental organization specializing in refugee matters. Nepal's civil war spawned a massive amount of refugees that year.
This year's asylum seekers came mainly from the Central Asian region, plagued by regional conflicts and political instability as well as increasing attacks by the Islamic militant Taliban group, according to the report.
The number of refugees from Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan grew by 90 and 82, respectively, in the first three months of the year from a year earlier with asylum seekers from Afghanistan rising by 13 during the same period, the report showed.
"The increased number of refugees from the Asian region is attributable to the Taliban's attacks widening to the area as well as regional and political conflicts there," the report said.
The inflow of refugees will continue rising as the Middle East and the North African regions are facing political changes and democratic uprisings, a NANCEN official said.
A total of 3,301 foreigners have applied for the authorized refugee status that comes with permanent residential and other favorable rights here since 1994. So far, 250 have been granted the status while 691 are currently being screened, according to the ministry.
pbr@yna.co.kr
A total of 386 foreigners applied for refugee status in the country during the first half of the year, compared with 423 recorded for all of 2010 and 324 for 2009, according to the Ministry of Justice's data.
The country is projected to have a record-high number of foreigners seeking refugee status this year if the current pace of refugee applications continues into the second half, the report showed.
A combined 717 foreigners applied for refugee status in 2007, the highest annual amount so far since the ministry first accepted such applications in 1994, according to the report, released by NANCEN, a local non-governmental organization specializing in refugee matters. Nepal's civil war spawned a massive amount of refugees that year.
This year's asylum seekers came mainly from the Central Asian region, plagued by regional conflicts and political instability as well as increasing attacks by the Islamic militant Taliban group, according to the report.
The number of refugees from Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan grew by 90 and 82, respectively, in the first three months of the year from a year earlier with asylum seekers from Afghanistan rising by 13 during the same period, the report showed.
"The increased number of refugees from the Asian region is attributable to the Taliban's attacks widening to the area as well as regional and political conflicts there," the report said.
The inflow of refugees will continue rising as the Middle East and the North African regions are facing political changes and democratic uprisings, a NANCEN official said.
A total of 3,301 foreigners have applied for the authorized refugee status that comes with permanent residential and other favorable rights here since 1994. So far, 250 have been granted the status while 691 are currently being screened, according to the ministry.
pbr@yna.co.kr
