S Korea Grants Refugee Status to Gay Man

A South Korean court has ruled that a gay man from Pakistan who fled his country for fear of being persecuted because of his sexual orientation should be granted refugee status in South Korea, The Korea Times reports.

The man had petitioned the South Korea government for refugee status last February, but his application was rejected by the Justice Ministry, which said his petition did not meet the criteria of a "well-founded fear of being persecuted" as stipulated by the United Nations. This court ruling reverses the Justice Ministry's decision.

"My life, as a homosexual, was in danger in my country," the man told Yonhop News Agency. "My family and relatives were my enemy. They said I was insulting my family, Islam, and my country and threatened that they would report me to the police."