Governments around the world can employ security measures to ward off terrorist attacks, but they should not compromise the protection of genuine refugees, the U.N. refugee agency’s Korea representative said.

“We advise governments that security measures should be put in place without undermining the protection of refugees,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Korea Representative Dirk Hebecker told The Korea Herald.

“If somebody qualifies for refugee status despite the fact that he or she is from a Muslim country or a country known to harbor most terrorists, they should not be looked at suspiciously. They are, first of all, refugees.”

His remarks came amid growing concerns that a recent series of major terrorist attacks including the latest in France could dampen the growing momentum to support refugees from Syria and other conflict-laden regions.

The German representative said his agency has recommended that governments maintain close cooperation with international law enforcement bodies to gather evidence or information on terror plots or terrorists to prevent terrorists from getting the refugee status.

Touching on North Korean refugees, he pledged to continue advocating with governments in the region to facilitate North Koreans’ access to South Korea. Thousands of North Koreans have defected from the repressive, impoverished state each year in search of a better life.

“Even if they (North Korean defectors) were not victims of persecution while they were in North Korea, we will recognize some of them as refugees because of the fate that awaits them when they go back to the North,” he said.

“Unfortunately, China has a different view, probably because of the close relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang,” he added. China has long repatriated North Korean defectors, regarding them as illegal border crossers.

Hebecker was positive in his evaluation of Seoul’s refugee-related policy, noting that the system has “all ingredients” to carry out proper refugee status determination procedures. Yet, there is room for improvement.

“Many people are in the waiting line (to get the refugee status), and the numbers of cases are increasing. So, the waiting time will get longer for those who arrive now,” he said.

“We hope that the government will be able to strengthen this aspect and make the process faster, more transparent and fair. Still compared to other countries, the procedure in Korea is relatively fast because in some countries, the backlog is so big that people wait for years.”

As South Korea’s stature has increased in diplomatic and business arenas, its attention to the refugee issues has also risen. Following its first recognition of a refugee in 2001, it enforced the Refugee Act for the first time among Asian nations. Last year, the Seoul government contributed some $16 million to the UNHCR fund.

Calling on Korea’s private companies to offer more support for refugees, Hebecker stressed the native countries of the refugees would later become lucrative markets for the businesses, though they are now torn by seemingly endless wars and violence.

“Where there are hot spots today, there will be peace tomorrow. Where there is peace tomorrow, people will have to rebuild the country and their lives,” he said.

“And that would require infrastructure at the national level, but also people who rebuild their homes need to buy consumer products ― anything from a television to refrigerator, mobile phone, etc. There is a market ― not right now, but there will be in the years to come.”

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)