A "refugee" refers to a foreign national who is unable or unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of his/her country of nationality owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; or who, not having a nationality, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to the country of his/her former residence (hereinafter “the country of habitual residence”) prior to entry into the Republic of Korea. (Article 2(1) of the Refugee Act)

A "recognized refugee" refers to a foreign national who is recognized as a refugee in accordance with the Refugee Act. (Article 2(2) of the Refugee Act)

A "humanitarian status holder" refers to a foreign national who does not qualify as a refugee but for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that his/her life or personal freedom may be egregiously violated by torture or other inhumane treatment or punishment or other circumstances, and who is given permission to stay by the Minister of Justice or the head of an immigration office or branch office. (Article 2(3) of the Refugee Act)

A "refugee status applicant" refers to a foreign national who has filed a refugee status application and to whom any of the followings applies: (Article 2(4) of the Refugee Act)

A "refugee seeking resettlement" refers to a foreign national who is a refugee outside the territory of the Republic of Korea and who wishes to resettle in the Republic of Korea. (Article 2(5) of the Refugee Act)

An "alien" refers to a person who is not a national of the Republic of Korea. (Article 2(6) of the Refugee Act)

※A foreign national includes a stateless person, but a multiple nationality holder with the nationality of the Republic of Korea is not a foreign national