Court said, "Domestic violence suffered by Ugandan women is 'persecuted'...You have to admit that you're a refugee."

A court ruled that Ugandan women who applied for refugee status in South Korea to escape domestic violence should be recognized as refugees.

The Seoul Administrative Court recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Ugandan woman A against the head of the Seoul Immigration and Foreign Affairs Agency to cancel the decision to reject refugees.

The court said A was assaulted by her husband due to a male-centered culture and discrimination against women, and decided that domestic violence should be viewed as "persecution" in terms of refugee recognition requirements.

Since getting married in May 2012, Ugandan woman A has been repeatedly assaulted by her husband and came to Korea in July 2018.

Then, the husband assaulted his family, including breaking A's younger brother's leg, and sent an e-mail to A, threatening to kill him.

Mr. A applied for refugee recognition in Korea, but the authorities did not accept it, saying that it did not fall under the 'well-founded fear of being persecuted' stipulated in the Refugee Convention and the Refugee Protocol.