Ate Only Hamburgers for Every Meal... Guinean Refugee Stranded at Gimhae Airport for Five Months

Human Rights Groups: "A Clear Violation of Human Rights"

A man from Guinea, who has been stranded at Gimhae International Airport in Busan for five months after being denied entry, has filed a lawsuit requesting a refugee status review.

According to Yonhap News, on the 24th, the Busan District Court Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Park Minsu) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a man in his 30s from Guinea, against the head of the Gimhae Airport Immigration Office, seeking to overturn the decision not to refer his case for a refugee status review.

Mr. A reportedly arrived at Gimhae Airport on April 27 and applied for refugee status at the airport. The Ministry of Justice decided not to refer his case for a refugee status review, but Mr. A refused to return to his home country and has stayed for nearly five months in the airport’s temporary waiting area for denied entrants (deportation waiting room).

Hamburger received by Mr. A. Joint Countermeasure Committee for Immigration Rights in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam · Yonhap News

Mr. A has claimed that he participated in protests against military dictatorship in Guinea and fled his country to escape political persecution, seeking recognition as a refugee. However, the authorities did not refer his case for a refugee review, stating that his testimony lacked credibility.

Subsequently, Mr. A remained at the airport and, with the assistance of human rights organizations, filed a lawsuit in July against the head of the Gimhae Airport Immigration Office to overturn the decision not to refer his case for a refugee status review. Mr. A’s legal representative stated, “Although we won in the first trial, we must wait to see whether the Ministry of Justice will appeal.”

Human rights organizations argued that Mr. A received hamburgers for more than 98% of his meals while staying at the airport, calling it a violation of his human rights. A representative from the Joint Countermeasure Committee for Immigration Rights in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam pointed out, “According to the Refugee Act, its enforcement decree, and the rules for operating the departure waiting room, immigration authorities are required to provide refugee applicants with appropriate food, clothing, and shelter in line with the customs and culture of their country of origin. Providing only hamburgers for all three meals is a clear violation of human rights.”

Meanwhile, the committee plans to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. on the 25th in front of the Busan Human Rights Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Yeonje-gu, Busan, to file a complaint regarding human rights violations in the airport departure waiting room.