A South Korean court has ruled that an Iranian who converted from Islam to Christianity should be given refugee status as he could be persecuted if he goes back to his country.

The Seoul Administrative Court said on Sunday the Iranian has won a lawsuit he filed against the chief of the Seoul Immigration Office demanding the authority withdraw its decision not to recognize his refugee status. 

The man began to attend a Protestant church upon entering South Korea in August 2011 and was baptized to convert from Islam to Christianity in March 2016. In April that year, he applied for refugee status to the immigration office only to be denied. He filed an administrative suit when his objection to the Justice Ministry was rejected.

"He should be considered a refugee because it is admitted there is sufficient fear that he could be persecuted by the Iranian authorities for his conversion to Christianity," Cha Ji-won, presiding judge of the court, said in a verdict.

By the refugee law, foreigners who have sufficient grounds to be persecuted for their race, religion and political opinions are recognized as refugees based on the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees.

"Iranian law can punish Muslims for converting to other religions as a religious crime," the judge said. "The UN refugee agency has reported that Christian converts in Iran still face severe levels of persecution, including assault, harassment, torture and maltreatment," he added. (Yonhap)