The justice ministry has appealed a court ruling that sided with two Russian men whose applications for refugee status were denied.

The ministry said on Wednesday that it decided to appeal out of concerns that it could be swarmed with similar requests for refugee status in the future.

Last month, the Incheon District Court ruled in favor of two of three Russian men seeking refugee status in suits filed against the Korea Immigration Service under the justice ministry. The men had been stranded in Incheon International Airport for months after fleeing their country to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine.

Together with South Korean human rights groups, the Russian men filed the suits last October after the immigration service deemed their applications for refugee status ineligible for evaluation on the basis that refusal of conscription was not a reason for refugee recognition.

In issuing its ruling, the Incheon court said the ministry should offer the two men the opportunity for their refugee status applications to be evaluated.

The justice ministry argued that past Supreme Court rulings and international laws have found that refugee recognition cannot be granted solely over the refusal of conscription.