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A foreigner who was granted refugee status in South Korea after claiming persecution in their home country for being a sexual minority now faces the loss of their refugee status as most of their statements were later exposed as false. According to the legal community on the 5th, Judge Cho Dae-hyun of the 10th Single Division of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the defendant in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A last month to revoke the "decision to revoke refugee recognition."
Mr. A, a native of an Islamic country, first entered South Korea on a short-term visit visa and then applied for refugee status. During the 2015 refugee interview process, he claimed to be a homosexual and transgender (sex-change) individual who had suffered kidnapping and assault in his home country. He stated that people who threatened to kill him for being a homosexual murdered his son with a gun and that even his family members threatened him and drove him out of the house.
Mr. A also claimed that, due to being a homosexual, he did not have sexual relations with his wife, and that the daughter living with him was a child his wife had with her cousin through an extramarital affair. Initially, Mr. A received a decision of non-recognition of refugee status but was granted refugee status after filing an objection with the Ministry of Justice.
However, during a subsequent re-verification of Mr. A’s life by immigration authorities, the falsehoods were exposed. It was found that after being...
Artificial intelligence tools have been a double-edged sword in Operation Epic Fury—both helping to spread disinformation, and helping to clear it up. On Thursday afternoon, the United States Cent...