Around 520,000 South Koreans signed a petition and protested against their government’s refugee friendly migration policy. Most of them are worried about Muslim refugees from Yemen and economic exploitation by migrants, DW news reports.

Hank Kim, the travel agency owner says:

“We are also worried because of their religion. We have had no contact with Muslim people before, but we know that they all have big families and they bring their own culture instead of trying to adapt to the place where they live..”

Kim continues: “Local people here are worried, we have all read about the problems that immigrants have caused in Europe — in Germany and France in particular — and we do not want that to happen here.”

There was also a protest in Seoul’s City Hall against the visa-waiver program in which hundreds of people participated. “We urge the government to put Korean citizens before refugees,” a rally organiser says.

“We are not against all refugees. But we should not accept foreigners who try to exploit the policy as a means of seeking economic interests and dodging the draft in their countries,” he adds.