By Kim Se-jeong
The Ministry of Finance and Strategy in charge of allocating the national budget is currently reviewing spending on North Korean defectors living in the South.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency, Woo Beom-ki, a financial ministry official said, “There have been calls that we need to check whether or not the financial assistance provided to North Korean defectors produces the intended outcome.”
The ministry is expected to unveil the assessment results by the end of this month.
So far, some 24,000 defectors reside in Seoul after escaping from the Stalinist state for food and freedom.
Upon arrival, they are sent to Hanawon, a facility aimed to help them adjust to the South, for three months of training. After this, each individual is provided with 19 million won (US$17,000) and up to an additional 21.4 million won for a smooth settlement.
The government also subsidizes businesses if they hire North Korean defectors by paying half their wages and additional funds are provided if their wages are less than the minimum cost of living.
The Ministry of Unification’s budget for settlement support last year was approximately 123.9 billion, accounting for more than 50 percent of the ministry’s entire budget. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Ministry of
Gender Equality and Family and regional municipalities also draw up their own budgets for support programs, pushing the total amount to an uncalculated figure.
Despite all the funding, its effectiveness has been in doubt.
In an interview, Park Sung-jae, a fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, said that the defector resettlement policy requires a large budget but this doesn’t achieve the desired results. “I am guessing there’s a systematic fault or a conflict between the policies.”
According to the results of a survey released by the North Korean Refugees Foundation, a public organization affiliated with the unification ministry, almost 30 percent of defectors still earn less than 1 million won per month. Their unemployment rate is 12.1 percent, 3.3 times the national average of 3.7 percent.
Separately, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a preliminary examination of government spending on defectors last month. An additional inquiry has been taking place since last week.