Record Number of Russians Seek Asylum in S. Korea
More Russians are fleeing to South Korea than ever before as the country reports a record number of asylum seekers from Russia.
According to the Korea Immigration Service, 5,750 Russians traveled to South Korea seeking asylum in 2023. That number is more than five times higher than the 1,038 Russians who sought asylum in 2022.
In fact, the 2023 figure is close to South Korea's total number of Russian asylum seekers over the whole period between 1994 and 2019.
Russians are now the largest group of asylum seekers in South Korea, followed by groups from Kazakhstan, China and Malaysia. A total of nearly 19,000 people asked for asylum over the last year — a 63% increase from 2022.
The most common reason for applying for asylum in 2023 was listed as "political opinions," with almost 4,600 applicants wanting to avoid military conscription, reports The Korea Herald.
A large number of Russians began leaving in 2022, after the country invaded Ukraine in February that year. In July 2023, Russia raised its maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30, leaving many more fearing they could be sent to Ukraine to fight.
However, South Korea has strict immigration rules. Of the 5,950 applications assessed last year, only 1.7% — or 101 people — were granted refugee status.
According to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there were nearly 3 million asylum applications around the world in 2022. Of those, about 535,000 were accepted — a rate of 18%.
Other countries have been facing a similar increase in Russian asylum seekers. For example, the number of Russian citizens applying for asylum in all 27 European Union countries in 2022 was triple the number recorded in early 2020.
