Officials have begun screening the asylum petitions filed by 486 Yemenis who made it to Jeju from their war-torn country. The process is expected to take months. Joseph Kim reports.

[slug]
Jeju Immigration Office

Yemen refugees who fled from the war-torn Arab nation gather in front of the Jeju Immigration Office.

They are here to inquire about employment in Jeju and the refugee screening process.

Recording
Asylum seeker from Yemen
Please help us. All of us here are intelligent, and we can handle any job.
<싱크 : 난민 신청 예멘인>
"저희를 도와주시기 위해 힘 써주시길 바랍니다.
(여기 있는 예멘인들은 똑똑하고 어떤일도 할 수 있어요.)"

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Asylum applications for 486 Yemenis being screened

The screening process for the 486 refugee status seekers is now underway.

The refugees have arrived on the island a few months ago.

2 examiners and 2 Arabic language speakers from the Ministry of Justice were added to assist the screening.

As the screening is done via an in-depth individual interview, the immigration office is able to deal with only 2 to 3 Yemeni refugees a day.
### C.G IN

The Jeju Immigration Office will decide whether to acknowledge the legal refugee status according to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees.

If a claim is refused, applicants can file an objection to authorities or an administrative litigation. If they lose at both of the proceedings, they will be forced to leave Korea.

However, if they are allowed to stay in Korea for humanitarian reasons, they can remain in Jeju.
### C.G OUT

Recording
Kim Do-gyoon / Dir. of Jeju Immigration & Foreign Affairs
People are worried that some of them aren’t real refugees, but we’ll check every application thoroughly. We'll work with other organizations to collect all available information about them and then decide whether to grant their petitions based on their national and personal circumstances.
<싱크 : 김도균 / 제주출입국·외국인청장>
"허위 난민이 아닌가 하는 우려가 있는데 이 부분은 개별 심사를 통해서 저희들이 하나하나 확인해 나갈 예정이고요. 국가 정황과 개인적인 사정들은 필요한 관계 기관, 주변 여러 정보 등 모든 것을 종합적으로 판단해서 심사를 하게 됩니다."

The massive screening of the refugees is happening for the first time on the island.

[Reporter] Joseph Kim
[Camera] Kim Yong-min

Seoul allowed 500 Syrians who claimed refugee status to stay in Korea for humanitarian reasons until the Syrian civil war ends, instead of acknowledging their refugee status in 2014.

Joseph Kim, KCTV