Over 10,000 North Korean Defectors in Gyeonggi Province...Province to Support Stable Settlement

[Suwon Ilbo= Reporter Park No-hun] As of the end of September 2019, the number of North Korean defectors residing in Gyeonggi Province has surpassed 10,000. In response, the Gyeonggi Province administration of the seventh popular election term plans to expand and implement various policies and projects to support the stable settlement of North Korean defectors.

According to the province on the 14th, the current number of North Korean defectors residing in Gyeonggi Province is 10,033, which means one out of every three North Korean defectors living in South Korea resides in Gyeonggi Province, given that the total number of North Korean defectors in South Korea exceeds 30,000. This is the largest number among all metropolitan local governments nationwide, approximately 1.4 times Seoul's 7,084 residents and approximately 3.5 times Incheon's 2,891 residents. The total number of North Korean defectors who have entered South Korea to date reaches 33,022 (as of June 2019, Ministry of Unification).

The province began hiring North Korean defectors as civil servants for the first time nationwide in 2008, and currently 61 are employed. Since January 2009, it has established a dedicated team for settling North Korean defectors as the first local government to do so, supporting their stable settlement.

In particular, this year in preparation for the era of peace, the province has allocated a total budget of 2,794 million won, consisting of 850 million won in provincial funds and 1,944 million won in national funds, implementing 11 support policies across four areas: ▲adaptation assistance ▲awareness improvement ▲employment capacity strengthening ▲counseling and case management for North Korean defectors.

Looking at major projects, first, to promote early livelihood stability for North Korean defectors, the province provides home appliance support for newly relocating households and conducts intensive initial education and regional adaptation support through six Hana Centers in the province.

Second, to improve social perception of North Korean defectors, the province operates various communication and harmony programs including inter-Korean family unification connection projects, North Korean defector cultural gap elimination projects, and the New Gyeonggi Unification Festival.

Third, to improve quality of life and achieve economic self-reliance for North Korean defectors, the province promotes employment support projects such as nursing care worker and accounting office assistant training, and enhances employment confidence through North Korean dialect correction and language ability improvement support. Starting next year, the province plans to newly implement projects to improve Korean language proficiency for North Korean defector children born in third countries who have difficulty with Korean.

Fourth, the province provides comprehensive support and case management through consultations in employment, legal affairs, medical care, living grievances, and psychology conducted at the Gyeonggi Province North Korean Defector Care Counseling Centers currently operating in Suwon and Uijeongbu and six Hana Centers in the province.

Going forward, the province plans to actively identify and support vulnerable North Korean defectors facing difficulties due to economic hardship, illness, and social or psychological isolation through public-private collaboration with the Ministry of Unification and Hana Centers, and will focus on eliminating blind spots in welfare. To this end, the province plans to allocate a budget of 3,222 million won (1,117 million won in provincial funds and 2,105 million won in national funds), an increase of 428 million won from this year, next year to further strengthen and implement policies supporting and protecting North Korean defectors.

Shin Myeong-seop, Director of the Peace Cooperation Bureau, said, "Since North Korean defectors are called 'early arrivals of unification,' systematic policies must be accompanied to prepare for the era of peace," and added, "Gyeonggi Province will take the lead so that North Korean defectors can settle stably in South Korean society and live with pride as citizens of the Republic of Korea."