Russians made up the largest share of asylum seekers in South Korea in 2025, marking the third consecutive year amid the Ukraine war, justice ministry data showed. The 2,026 Russian applicants accounted for 13.8 percent of the total 14,626, a sharp drop from the previous year. A ministry official attributed the trend to Russia's conscription efforts due to the conflict.
Russians filed 2,026 asylum applications in South Korea in 2025, accounting for 13.8 percent of the total 14,626 applicants, according to justice ministry data released on Wednesday. This made them the leading nationality for the third straight year, followed by Indians with 1,462 and Kazakhs with 1,216. The number marked a sharp decline from 4,546 Russian applications in 2024, though Russians have topped the list since 2023, when they recorded 5,750 -- a fivefold increase from the previous year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
A ministry official stated that the ongoing conflict is believed to have influenced the applications, pointing to Russia's conscription drives amid the war. However, no Russians were granted refugee status in 2025. South Korea approved status for 135 people that year, including 75 from Myanmar.
South Korea acceded to the U.N. Refugee Convention and Protocol in 1992 and began registering asylum seekers in 1994. Since then, 1,679 individuals have received refugee status, resulting in a recognition rate of just 2.7 percent, the ministry said.
The data highlights the war's ripple effects on neighboring countries and underscores the stringent nature of South Korea's asylum policies.
