Iranian refugee Kim Min-hyuk, 16, holds a one-man demonstration in front of the Ministry of Justice at Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province, to call on the government to recognize his father as a refugee, Monday, a day prior to the father's interview for the refugee status. Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-heun



By Kim Jae-heun



A 16-year-old Iranian refugee, who goes by the Korean name Kim Min-hyuk here, held a one-man relay demonstration ― taking turns with his friends ― in front of the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gyeonggi Province, where the Ministry of Justice is located, Monday, to call for the immigration authorities to also recognize his father as a refugee.



Kim came to Korea in July 2010 when he was seven years old along with his father who was running his own business here.



"I was very young then and I followed my friends to the church almost every week then," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday, after the demonstration. "I did not know anything about the religious beliefs in my home country and I told my aunt that I was going to church.



"She cursed at me and told me to never call her back. Later, I learned that in Iran, if you change your religion, you are a turncoat and you can be sentenced to death," Kim said.





Kim's middle school teacher Oh Hyun-rok, left, and Kim's friends pose with posters prior to their one-man relay demonstration in front of the justice ministry in the Gwacheon Government Complex, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap