Malaysian Nationals Exploit Refugee Process Loophole, Prosecutors Say

(SOUTH KOREA) South Korean immigration authorities have handed two Malaysian nationals to prosecutors on November 5, 2025, accusing them of brokering a fraudulent refugee process for 320 fellow Malaysians by exploiting gaps in the country’s asylum rules. The case, led by the Incheon Airport Immigration Office under the Justice Ministry, centers on a 31-year-old Malaysian woman and a 52-year-old Malaysian man who, investigators say, turned refugee applications into a paid service that promised quick identification cards and a way to extend stays despite rejections.

Officials said the woman filed 263 refugee applications for Malaysian nationals between August 2022 and 2025, charging each applicant 860,000 won (about $595). The man is accused of arranging 57 refugee applications from October 2023 to October 2025, with fees of about 500,000 won (roughly $345) per person. Both allegedly marketed their service on social media with the pitch, “you’ll get an ID card in Korea for 860,000 won,” and encouraged clients to claim they faced persecution based on religion or sexual orientation—allegations authorities say were fabricated to pass initial screenings.

Investigators say none of the 320 refugee applications submitted through the two suspects resulted in official refugee status. Yet the filings still secured months, and in some cases years, of legal presence in South Korea for the applicants because of how the system treats claims while they are under review. According to the Incheon Airport Immigration Office, South Korea allows asylum seekers to remain in the country while their cases are processed, regardless of how many times they apply or whether they are rejected. That framework, officials say, became the core loophole the brokers sold to Malaysian nationals seeking work and extended stays through repeated, meritless claims.

The case offers a rare window into the mechanics of alleged refugee-application brokering, with investigators detailing a chain that started years earlier. The woman first entered Korea in November 2019 and obtained residency by filing her own refugee application. She was later denied recognition as a refugee and is now considered undocumented. The man, investigators said, learned the method after he paid the woman to file a false refugee claim on his behalf in June 2023. He has remained in the country as an applicant, not as a recognized refugee, while he arranged filings for others.

Immigration officials said they have reported about 300 individuals suspected of using fake refugee applications to work illegally to regional offices, and they plan to revoke residency and deport those found to have abused the system. The Incheon Airport Immigration Office, which pursued the case under the Justice Ministry, described a broad crackdown that will continue beyond the two accused brokers.

“We will strengthen crackdowns on brokers to prevent abuse of the refugee screening system as a means of illegal employment and residency extension,” an official from the office said.

Authorities say the lure for many was simple and specific: an identification card and time. The ads promising “you’ll get an ID card in Korea for 860,000 won” were designed to appeal to Malaysian nationals already in South Korea or those seeking to enter and find work, according to investigators. By paying the fee and lodging refugee applications—repeating the process after rejections if necessary—clients could remain in the country during multiple rounds of review, despite lacking a valid underlying claim. The suspects allegedly instructed clients on what to say, steering them toward false assertions of religious or sexual-orientation persecution because those categories are commonly recognized grounds for protection internationally.

The scale laid out by investigators suggests a structured operation rather than isolated misconduct. The woman’s filings—263 refugee applications over roughly three years—averaged several cases per week across 2022, 2023, 2024, and into 2025. The man’s 57 applications between October 2023 and October 2025 formed a second stream, allegedly built on the very approach he purchased as a customer in June 2023. The fees, which totaled more than 226 million won for the woman’s clients alone, created steady revenue from people seeking a foothold in South Korea’s labor market without an employment visa.

The outcome for the 320 applicants underscores the gap between what was promised and what the system ultimately allowed. Not one of the refugee applications arranged by the brokers led to refugee recognition, according to the immigration office. Recognition as a refugee in South Korea requires a credible, substantiated fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. In this case, investigators concluded the filings were fraudulent, tailored to mirror protected categories without evidentiary support. Once the applications failed, many clients had already spent months or years living and working in South Korea, leveraging the review period permitted by the system.

Officials say the next steps involve both criminal prosecution of the alleged brokers and immigration penalties for those who participated. Prosecutors will consider the case files delivered on November 5, 2025, including financial records, social media advertisements, and application templates. Immigration authorities, meanwhile, have referred about 300 people suspected of filing fake claims for illegal employment purposes to regional offices, with plans to cancel their residency status and begin deportation procedures. Those steps, officials say, are aimed at closing the cycle in which repeated refugee applications became a substitute for visas in a shadow labor market.

The woman’s personal trajectory highlights how the system’s allowances can be turned inward against it. By entering in November 2019 and securing residency through an initial refugee claim, she gained time in the country despite ultimately being denied. Her status shifted to undocumented when recognition did not come, but by then, investigators allege, she had learned how to file claims swiftly on behalf of others. The man’s path followed a similar arc, starting with his own false application in June 2023—a service he bought from the woman—before he began selling the same model to new clients while continuing to remain in Korea as an applicant.

The investigation’s focus on social media marketing reflects how migration services increasingly move to online spaces. Authorities say the brokers’ posts and messages, which featured the line “you’ll get an ID card in Korea for 860,000 won,” were aimed at Malaysians already living in South Korea and those abroad considering the trip. The promise of an ID card, combined with the guidance to claim specific forms of persecution, turned refugee applications into a step-by-step product for sale—one that, investigators argue, did not aim to meet the legal standard for asylum but to trigger the right to remain temporarily.

South Korea’s refugee regime, like many globally, is built to protect people fleeing persecution while cases are examined. The Incheon Airport Immigration Office said that allowance—permitting applicants to stay during review, regardless of the number of filings or prior denials—was central to how the fraudulent refugee process operated. By filing again after rejections, clients could extend their time in the country without changing the merits of their claims. Authorities say tightening oversight of serial applications and third-party brokers is now a priority to prevent asylum procedures from serving as a backdoor for illegal employment.

The case also shows how narrowly targeted networks can create ripple effects across immigration systems. What began with a single Malaysian national seeking to extend her stay evolved into a pipeline serving hundreds of Malaysian nationals over several years, using the same tools that legitimate asylum seekers rely on. That dynamic, officials warn, risks eroding trust in refugee applications overall and can delay processing for people with substantiated claims. It also fuels a market in which applicants pay hundreds of thousands of won for promises that do not produce protection, legal status, or a pathway to work authorization.

Authorities did not release the names of the two accused, providing only ages and nationalities: a 31-year-old Malaysian woman and a 52-year-old Malaysian man. The lack of refugee recognition for all 320 applicants linked to the pair was cited as evidence of systemic abuse rather than isolated mistakes. In parallel with the prosecution, immigration teams are preparing revocations of residency and deportation measures against those accused of using false claims to work illegally, moves that will impact hundreds of people who paid fees and followed the brokers’ instructions.

The Justice Ministry maintains public information about immigration and refugee procedures, including eligibility, documentation, and consequences for false statements. Officials encouraged people to consult official sources rather than third-party brokers promising guaranteed outcomes, and to understand that asylum claims require detailed, credible proof tailored to individual circumstances. For authoritative guidance, the Korea Immigration Service (Ministry of Justice) provides resources on refugee procedures and legal obligations.

The Incheon Airport Immigration Office framed the case as part of a broader effort to separate legitimate asylum seekers from those using the process to sidestep immigration rules.

“We will strengthen crackdowns on brokers to prevent abuse of the refugee screening system as a means of illegal employment and residency extension,” the office said, pledging more audits of brokers, closer monitoring of serial applications, and coordinated enforcement with regional branches.

For the hundreds now facing revocation and deportation, the consequences will be immediate. For South Korea’s refugee system, the test will be whether tightening enforcement can preserve access for genuine claims while shutting down schemes that turn protection into a paid workaround.