Lawmaker calls for overhaul of NK defector services

Rep. Shim Yoon-joe

Seoul needs to overhaul its support system for North Korean defectors as too many escapees from the Stalinist state live in sub-standard living conditions here, a lawmaker said Monday.

Rep. Shim Yoon-joe of the ruling Saenuri Party said that because President Lee Myung-bak and previous administrations have not done enough to help them, defectors are languishing in low-paying jobs and suffering from stigmatization.

In a report, he said that of the over 19,386 defectors currently receiving government support, 9045 were living among the citizens with“the lowest standard of living,” citing government data.

“We should view North Korean defectors as assets in the course of eventual unification (with the North),” Shim said over the phone. “But the actual treatment is poor. We should bring their level of living to a higher level.”

He added that current efforts were “not yet substantive.”

According to the report, the average monthly income for defectors in the workforce came to just over 1.2 million won, less than half of that of their counterparts born in the South. Shim is calling on Seoul to bolster its program to help defectors find jobs.

In terms of occupation, the report said that a disproportionate number of defectors ­ 76.8 percent – worked in low paying jobs such as in the service sector or factory work, while only 15.6 percent worked in highly-skilled areas such as medicine.

Some 23,000 North Koreans have escaped to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Despite leaving their homeland, many face a host of struggles adapting to life in the capitalist South including stereotyping and problems in job and education sectors.

Shim said holes in the support system for defectors need to be fixed. He said defectors who lose their jobs and then accept financial aid may render themselves ineligible for further support. “The total money that can be received from the government is reduced. It is ineffective.”

He said more funds for public service announcements educating the public on defectors, as well as better educative services for them were important.

Social workers here say many young defectors have problems in regular schools due to language ­ many stay in China for extended periods and fall behind in Korean as well as cultural stereotypes.

In the South, youth defectors choose between regular schools and special schools for those from the North. In both cases, many say they struggle due to a lack of support at home and the competitive education culture in the South. Families also have trouble affording expensive tutoring academies that are popular here.

Shim said it was becoming increasingly difficult for defectors to overcome the perception that they are of a lower status due to their homeland.

“We need a new policy to treat them as very important assets for unification. Otherwise it is not the right policy for unification,” he said.

The vast majority of defectors arrive in the South after escaping to China. But they must travel to a third country as Beijing enforces a strict repatriation policy. They receive citizenship after three months of debriefing and societal adjustment programs. <The Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>

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