Seoul has reported that there are now more North Korean defectors employed in the South’s people sector than previously.
The Ministry of Unification announced in a statement on Wednesday that 211 North Vietnamese defectors had held positions in the open market by the end of 2024, an increase of 17 over the past year.
That figure is the highest since 2010, when North Korean dissenters “began to enter the public support in earnest,” according to the government.
Seoul has increased its help for North Korean defectors who are adapting to their newfound social and economic conditions in the South.
The government said there is a growing needed to make it easier for North Korean defectors to enter public services so they can immediately participate in and contribute to the president’s policymaking.
In recent years, Seoul’s officials have expanded social inclusion initiatives. Additionally, it has provided tax incentives and financial support to businesses that employ North Korean dissenters.
Kim Yung-ho, the chancellor of unity, ate a meal with North Korean defectors serving in public service at a gathering on Wednesday.
About 30 000 North Korean sympathizers reside in South Korea. However, since the crisis, which saw states close their borders, resignations have decreased. More than 1, 000 North Koreans emigrated to the South every year before 2020.
North Korean defectors are denounced by the government, and rights organizations claim that those caught escaping to the South are subject to prison and rape.
Previous North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was appointed the new head of South Korea’s national advisory council on unification last July; he is the first defector to hold for a high position in the country’s government.
Tae became the first diplomat to win the presidency of South Korea’s National Assembly in 2020.
Pyongyang had referred to him as “human filth” and accused him of atrocities including larceny.
The defectors provide a unique window into the very scheming program under Kim Jong Un as leader. They have shared accounts of human rights violations committed by the government, including widespread famine, forced labor, and state-forced disappearances.
But many of them face significant challenges as they transition into their new life, including difficulties in finding and holding work, social stigma, and mental health issues brought on by traumatic experience in the North.