South Korean man who believes he is ‘tortured’ by hidden enemies loses bid for refugee status

A South Korean man has been declined refugee status in New Zealand and must return home. Photo / Unsplash

A South Korean man has been turned down for refugee status in New Zealand despite his belief that hidden enemies are torturing him using electronic devices.

Instead, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal suggested the man had an undiagnosed mental health condition.

The single man in his 40s, who is identified only as AX, appealed to the tribunal against an immigration officer’s refusal to grant him refugee status. He came to New Zealand in 2014.

He claimed to have a well-founded fear of being persecuted if sent back to South Korea, or to be in danger of being subjected to harm, “because he has been subjected to various forms of physical harm and psychological harm by ‘hidden’ enemies using unknown electronic devices”, the tribunal decision said.

The man, who appeared before the tribunal via an audio-visual link, detailed a long history of perceived persecution through “electronic harassment techniques” which induced headaches, chest pains, sleep disturbance, occasional vomiting and weight gain. He believed people were staring at him.

“The tribunal has no doubt that the appellant sincerely believes that unknown enemies have been torturing him since the mid-1990s by means of electronic devices, possibly microwave radiation, which cause him to have headaches, chest pains and be in a state of sexual arousal as well as contributing to sleep deprivation,” the tribunal decision said.

However, tribunal member Bruce Burson did not accept the man’s symptoms were caused by the “hidden enemies”.

“The appellant’s account is indicative of people suffering from some form of undiagnosed schizophrenia,” Burson said.

Burson said AX had declined a mental health examination and rejected the suggestion he was suffering from any mental illness.

However, Burson noted that counsel had told the man anosognosia — a lack of awareness of illness — was also a common characteristic of schizophrenia.

Burson considered whether the man could be a refugee or a protected person under international covenants on civil rights and against torture. He found that he was not.

Although AX had described his experience as being tortured, “credibility and fact apply”. AX was not at risk of being subjected to severe mental or physical pain at the hands of a public official.

“There are no substantial grounds for believing that the appellant would be in danger of being subjected to torture if deported from New Zealand.”

Burson reviewed mental health services available in South Korea and found the risk of the man being confined to an institution there was speculative, as was the risk that he might be subject to a violent attack.

Burson said that, despite the ostracism and isolation AX may have experienced in his home country, he had been able to maintain good relations with his family, to study successfully and find employment.

“There is no reason to suppose that it would be any different in the future,” he said.