Russian men stay at the waiting area of Incheon Airport after their applications for refugee status were denied. (Lee Jong-chan)

The South Korean government once again held firm in its stance that Russians coming to the country to avoid being drafted in the war in Ukraine would not qualify as refugees.

In a message to reporters on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said it would appeal Incheon District Court’s Feb. 14 decision that two of the three Russian men who arrived here in October should be allowed the chance to apply for refugee status here.

“The Justice Ministry has decided to appeal the court’s ruling from the first trial that the ministry revoke its earlier decision not to consider their refugee application,” the ministry said in the message.

The ministry turned down the Russian men’s applications at the time, saying that refusing to serve in the military alone would not be considered legitimate grounds for claiming refugee status. The ministry said they had also initially reported that they were entering the country as tourists. With the help of refugee rights activists here, they took the ministry’s rejection to court and won the first trial in part two weeks ago.

The ministry explained in the message that past rulings from higher courts, including the Supreme Court of Korea, have established that avoiding conscription cannot be grounds for recognizing someone as a refugee.

Out of the three Russian men who are challenging the ministry’s rejection, the Incheon court saw that two had “legitimate reasons” to fear persecution if they returned to their home country. One had a history of participating in anti-Putin demonstrations prior to the invasion of Ukraine, and the other was a member of an ethnic minority, which he contended put him at greater risk.

The third, however, held dual citizenship elsewhere and the court said he should first seek protection in the country of his citizenship.

The three of them had been staying at Incheon Airport for four months as they awaited the court’s decision. They were supplied with necessities by the ministry over their stay at the airport. The two who won in the first trial are now being accommodated at the ministry’s immigration support center.

Lee Jong-chan, the lawyer representing the Russian men, said in a phone call with The Korea Herald on Tuesday, “We’re not arguing that they should be admitted as refugees immediately. But our government can at least consider their application for refugee protection.”