Park Beom-gye "Considering Special Stay Permit for Afghan Nationals Residing in Korea"... "Reviewing Refugee Acceptance from National Interest and Human Rights Perspectives"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Amid growing interest in the issue of accommodating Afghan refugees at U.S. military bases in South Korea, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, announced on the 24th that he is considering granting special stay permits to Afghans currently residing in the country.

On his way to the Ministry of Justice Gwacheon office that morning, Minister Park told reporters, "There were criteria for granting special stays during the Myanmar situation," adding, "It seems possible to apply the same criteria to Afghans residing in South Korea."

According to the government, there are currently about 400 Afghans residing in South Korea.

The Ministry of Justice implemented humanitarian special stay measures for Myanmar nationals residing in South Korea after the military coup in Myanmar in March led to a bloody conflict.

At that time, the Ministry granted temporary stay status to Myanmar nationals who wished to remain legally in the country, and for those whose stay period had expired and were required to leave, measures were taken to allow voluntary departure once the local situation stabilized.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of transporting local individuals who worked for or assisted Korean-related organizations in Afghanistan to South Korea, Minister Park stated, "The Ministry of Justice is preparing in various ways," and added, "We have also conducted a legal analysis on the issue of accommodating Afghan refugees at U.S. military bases."

Minister Park also expressed his position on the acceptance of Afghan refugees.

He emphasized, "South Korea's status in the international community is different from before," and said, "We need to comprehensively review humanitarian positions represented by human rights and the refugee and immigration policies that our country should adopt."

He added, "There may be various debates, but it is time to actively consider this from the perspectives of national interest and human rights."