SBS News

News > Society

10-Year-Old Child Stranded at Airport for a Year... NHRCK Calls for Measures

Lee Gang

Published : Aug 12, 2026 8:43 AM

Video

Let's take a look at the next hot topic.

Did you happen to know about this?

A 10-year-old foreign child has been living in the departure lounge of Incheon International Airport for over a year.

In response, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has recommended that the Ministry of Justice devise measures to guarantee the child's right to education and development.

A, a 10-year-old boy from Mali in Africa, entered South Korea with his father in June of last year and applied for refugee status.

However, they received a notification from the Ministry of Justice issuing a decision to refuse referral, meaning their application would not be forwarded for a formal refugee status determination.

They have been living in the Incheon Airport departure lounge for over a year.

The two filed an administrative lawsuit to appeal the refusal decision, but lost in the first trial.

An appeal is currently underway.

In October of last year, they filed a complaint with the NHRCK, claiming that staying at the airport for a prolonged period constituted inhumane treatment.

The NHRCK concluded that, considering the indoor environment of the airport, they had not suffered inhumane treatment.

However, the commission pointed out that unlike his father, 10-year-old A is in a situation where he has to endure disadvantages resulting from actions for which he bears no responsibility, suffering setbacks in education, welfare, and emotional development due to his prolonged life at the airport.