Early voting begins in remote areas in Russian presidential election
South Korea saw a record number of Russian citizens seeking asylum in the country in 2023, according to a report released by the Korea Immigration Service.
A total of 5,750 Russian citizens applied for asylum in South Korea in 2023, five times more than the 1,038 who sought protection the previous year and more than the total number recorded between 1994 and 2019.
Russians had the highest number of asylum seekers in South Korea in 2023, with a total of 18,838, followed by Kazakhstan (2,094), China (1,282), Malaysia (1,205), India (1,189), Mongolia (836) and Turkey (564) . ,
According to data from the Immigration Service, part of the Justice Ministry, asylum applications in 2023 were the highest in at least the past eight years.
South Korea has very strict immigration laws, including asylum applications. According to the ministry report, from 1994 to the end of 2023, 103,760 people had applied for refugee status, of which only 4,052 have been recognized as refugees so far.
The most common reason given by applicants for seeking asylum was persecution based on religion, followed by political persecution. Other reasons include discrimination based on membership of a specific social group, race or nationality.
According to data published this Thursday, this trend will continue until the beginning of 2024.
In January, Russians recorded the highest number of citizens applying for asylum in South Korea compared to other citizens at 376, followed by India (142), Mongolia (142), Kazakhstan (132), China (129), Malaysia (113) and Turkey. (66), Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh and others.
(TagstoTranslate)Russian News (T)Ukraine News