Ahead of World Refugee Day on Sunday, South Korea's human rights watchdog has recommended the government revise its guidelines to improve the treatment of those staying in the country on humanitarian grounds.

In a statement on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission said over 60 percent of humanitarian sojourners currently in South Korea are forced to stay for more than three years as situations back home do not permit them to return.

They face inconvenience from having to extend their status every year, such as being rejected by mobile service providers and insurance companies. Many struggle to make ends meet due to strict regulations for employment.

Humanitarian sojourners are categorized differently from refugees. They are those who have been permitted to stay in the country as there is reason to believe their lives or freedom could be violated through inhumane acts, such as torture, in their home country.

Between 1994 and 2020, two-thousand-370 people have been granted such status.