1. Reported Stateless Persons
In 2022, the South Korean government officially reported 241 stateless persons to UNHCR, marking an increase from the previous year’s figure of 202 stateless persons. However, it’s important to note that this reported number has remained relatively stable at around 200 persons for the past five years. Despite these official figures, estimates based on immigration data and foreign residents suggest that as many as 10,032 stateless persons could be residing in South Korea. The lack of reliable official figures underscores the challenge in accurately assessing the number of stateless individuals in the country, as highlighted in UNHCR’s 4th cycle UPR submission for South Korea.
One group experiencing statelessness are ethnic Chinese defectors from North Korea who are unable to gain Korean citizenship due to ties to China. Around 33,000 defectors from North Korea entered South Korea between 1998 and 2023, 71% of which being women. South Korea does not recognise the legitimacy of the North Korean state and considers the entire Korean peninsula to be their territory and nationals of North Korea to be their nationals. Refugees from North Korea are however required to undertake a verification process and receive a ‘decision of protection’ which enables the creation of a new family registration. While most North Korean defectors are supported by government services, those who are of Chinese descent are denied refugee status and the government services that come with it. As of 2021, 30 of these defectors were recognized as stateless. Due to their stateless status, many have difficulty finding employment and accessing basic services. Some resort to posing as a North Korean national, which has led to prolonged detention in South Korea.
2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness
Both the CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) and ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) Committees have expressed concerns regarding the obstacles encountered by children born to foreign parents in accessing birth registration and citizenship. In 2019, the CEDAW Committee highlighted in its concluding observations for South Korea that children of undocumented, unmarried migrant women face a heightened risk of statelessness due to difficulties in birth registration processes.
Those who face statelessness or are at risk of statelessness in South Korea encompass various groups, such as foreigners who lose their naturalized South Korean citizenship when renouncing their previous citizenship, repatriated former nationals who became stateless in Russia and Japan, stateless asylum seekers from North Korea and other countries, as well as children born to foreign parents.
Those who are stateless or at risk of statelessness in South Korea include individuals who lose their naturalized South Korean citizenship after renouncing their previous citizenship, returning former nationals who became stateless in Russia and Japan, stateless asylum seekers from North Korea and other countries, as well as children born to foreign parents.
3. Stateless Refugee
The 2021 mapping report identified 97 Vietnamese asylum seekers (and their descendants) who arrived in South Korea during the Vietnamese war, were classified as stateless due to an administrative gap and have not yet had their status resolved.
