“Allah or Jesus, that is the question.”

This is the case of Mr. A, who refused to believe in Allah, converted to Christianity, felt that his life was threatened in his home country, came to the Republic of Korea, applied for refugee status, and was ultimately recognized as a refugee.

So first,
let’s take a look at what a refugee actually is.

What is a refugee?

Dictionary definition
A refugee is a person who flees to another country because it is difficult to live safely in their own country due to war, persecution, violence, or other circumstances.
In particular, a person who faces a risk of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion may be recognized as a refugee under international law.

So, what does this actually mean?

A refugee is ultimately
a person who believes it is difficult to live safely in their home country because of conflict with large social groups based on factors such as race, religion, or nationality,
and therefore flees to another country,
while also being unable or unwilling to return to their home country.

And the country receiving refugees
has to determine whether the person actually qualifies for refugee status
before deciding whether to accept them.

Things such as
criminal records
and whether the person genuinely had to flee should be examined carefully.

Why?
Because once refugee status is recognized,
refugees receive institutional support
that can place them in a position comparable to that of citizens in certain areas.

In South Korea, for example, this can include free education for children.


In addition,
people who have migrated simply because of economic hardship or in search of a better life generally do not qualify as refugees,
so this also
needs to be examined carefully.


Then shall we take a look at the refugee recognition case I brought with me?

The first application was rejected, but it was later accepted,
so I think this case is useful because we can look at both situations at once.



There is only one main character: Mr. A.

Mr. A is from Iran, a country of Allah.

But at the age of 16,
he had already begun to think,
“I don’t agree with Allah,
and I cannot understand Allah’s teachings and doctrines.”

Then, at the age of 17, he encountered Christianity.

Wasn’t he already dead by then?

After becoming deeply immersed in Christianity,
Mr. A decided to convert.

But what kind of country is Iran?

Just three years ago, women who did not wear the hijab were driven into the streets,
and there were cases of indiscriminate assault and even death.

And women’s rights movements are still ongoing, aren’t they?

As I understand it,
the hijab is imposed on women because the Quran says something along the lines of women having to cover their bodies, and so on and so forth.

Simply because a book says that people should do so,
people in the modern era
are having even their freedom of clothing restricted.
That is Iran.

But what if you don’t just
refuse to follow the teachings of that book?

What if you go all the way and say:

“I don’t believe in that book. I hate it.
But I like this book instead,”
and go around telling everyone about it?

Probably
you would meet Allah that very day.

And then, in order to warn the next person,
you might remain forever in a video.

For those reasons, Mr. A decided to leave the country and convert to Christianity abroad.

He secretly received baptism at a hotel

and traveled around foreign countries, becoming even more deeply involved in Christianity.

And then a problem arose.

After returning to his home country, Iran,
Mr. A began attending secret worship services in 2016.

Perhaps it was only natural that even the worship services had to be held in secret.

Then, in 2018, one of his colleagues was arrested first.

After that, one of his family members who was in the Revolutionary Guard
sent Mr. A a message that would ultimately save his life.

“I’m coming to arrest you now.”

Mr. A immediately left Iran, traveling through the Philippines,
and arrived in the Republic of Korea.

That was the story of how Mr. A became a refugee.

After that, this is what the court decided.

He first applied for refugee status in 2020,
but on November 18, 2020, his application was rejected.

He filed an objection, but that was also dismissed.

Then he filed an administrative lawsuit.
After a period of more than four years,

on August 27, 2026,
the first-instance court
recognized him as a refugee.

So there are two things we should pay attention to here.

Why was he recognized the second time?

And regardless of what kind of visa he entered Korea with in 2018,
it must have been a visa allowing only a limited period of stay if he had not prepared for long-term residence.
So how was he able to remain in Korea
from 2020
until the date of the first-instance judgment,
August 27, 2026,
and under what status?

First,

As for why he was recognized the second time,
this can be interpreted as follows.

We need to think about what kind of year 2026 has been for Iran.

Starting with the women’s rights movement,
what is happening in Iran right now?

February 28, 2026, was the day the United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes against Iran.
Yes, war.

There is no time when a country demands greater loyalty from its citizens than during wartime.
And in Iran, Allah is essentially the state itself.

Even under normal circumstances,

if you say,
“I don’t believe in Allah. I believe in Jesus,”
then it is a country where they might say,
“Then you must meet Jesus immediately,”
and process the matter at lightning speed.

But what if you said that now?

From the perspective of the South Korean court,

couldn’t we say that they may have thought,
“Ah, if this person goes back, they are going to die”?

Second, how was he able to stay for nearly six years?

This is simple.
From the moment a refugee application is filed,
the person acquires the status of a “refugee applicant” and is granted a legal basis to stay.

Article 5, Paragraph 6 of the Refugee Act provides that a refugee applicant may stay in Korea until the refugee determination becomes final.
And
if administrative litigation is underway, the person can stay until the lawsuit is concluded.

So let’s look at Mr. A’s path again.

Refugee application → Refugee rejection → Objection → Objection dismissed → Administrative lawsuit → Refugee recognition

After the objection was dismissed, which could be regarded as the finalization of the refugee rejection decision, what did he do?
Yes, he filed an administrative lawsuit.

That is, in fact, correct.

He crossed the border at the risk of his life
and arrived in a country he believed was safe, then applied for refugee status.

And then to say,
“Your visa has expired, so go back.
If you stay any longer, you will be forcibly sent back to your home country as an illegal overstayer.”

That simply cannot be done.

It would be telling him to go back and die.

Now that Mr. A has been recognized as a refugee,
it would not be an exaggeration to say that he receives treatment comparable to that of South Korean citizens in many areas.

Category	After Refugee Recognition
Residence	Lawfully resides in Korea with the residence status granted to recognized refugees
Employment	Can work without a separate work permit
Social Security	Covered by relevant systems such as National Health Insurance and the National Pension
Basic Livelihood	If eligibility requirements are met, can use social welfare programs such as the National Basic Living Security system
Education	Children can receive primary and secondary education and access certain educational support programs
Healthcare	Can receive health insurance coverage and, where eligibility requirements are met, medical aid
Family	Under certain conditions, may be able to reunite with a spouse and minor children

Right?

Thinking about Mr. A, who must have spent six years worrying about his future,
I feel like I want to say congratulations.

Now
it seems all that remains is for you to live comfortably, Mr. A.
Congratulations.

But what about that family member in the Revolutionary Guard?
They are okay, right??