The other migrant crisis: South Korea cracks down on Yemeni refugees

Arrival of hundreds of people fleeing Yemen conflict has sparked panic is Seoul

Yemen civil war
A family sit in a makeshift shelter at camp for displaced Yemeni citizens
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

South Korea’s Justice Ministry has announced that the country’s asylum laws are to be revised, as a sudden influx of Yemen refugees sparks an anti-migrant backlash.

More than 552 people from Yemen arrived in the East Asian nation between January and May, the ministry said. Prior to this year, a total of just 430 Yemenis had ever applied for refugee status in South Korea, Reuters reports.

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