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Viewing cable 06SEOUL4281, NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN THE ROK: AN OVERVIEW

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06SEOUL4281 2006-12-15 09:05 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Seoul
VZCZCXRO6040
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVK
DE RUEHUL #4281/01 3490905
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 150905Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1931
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7720
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1842
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1743
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 6412
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 1422
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 2025
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0270
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2417
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 8655
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0074
RUDKIA/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0903
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1252
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0017
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3044
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0059
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 3235
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1167
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 004281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN THE ROK: AN OVERVIEW 
 
REF: A. SEOUL 1837 
     B. 05 SEOUL 666 
     C. SEOUL 4131 
     D. 05 SEOUL 77 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (SBU) The ROKG's resettlement programs for North Korean 
refugees have evolved over time as the number of refugees has 
grown and their demographics have changed.  South Korean 
officials and experts see the ROK's efforts to help the 
nearly 10,000 refugees successfully resettle in the ROK as 
the first step toward, and a preview of, reunification.  The 
ROK's programs include financial, educational, and employment 
assistance, involving numerous government agencies and civil 
society groups.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) This is the first in a series of cables outlining 
resettlement programs and conditions for North Korean 
refugees in the ROK.  Information and comments were provided 
through meetings in November and December 2006 with ROKG 
officials, academic experts, NGO leaders, and several 
resettled North Koreans.  Our interlocutors were from the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), Ministry of 
Unification (MOU), and Ministry of Labor (MOL), the Hanawon 
resettlement facility, local community offices, and NGOs. 
 
HISTORY OF RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM 
------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The ROK is approaching a landmark of 10,000 
resettled North Koreans, the vast majority of whom have 
arrived since the late 1990s.  The ROKG calls them 
"Saetomin," or new settlers; to most Koreans they are known 
as "Thalbukja," or "people who have escaped the North."  Lee 
Kang-rak, former Hanawon Director and current 
Secretary-General of the Association of Supporters for 
 
SIPDIS 
Defecting North Korean Residents, reported that prior to the 
mid-1990s, most North Korean refugees who came to the ROK 
were political defectors of a relatively high level, whom the 
ROK saw primarily as intelligence assets and public diplomacy 
tools in its competition with the North.  Government 
assistance to North Korean refugees was first directed under 
the 1962 Special Relief Act for Patriots, Veterans, and North 
Korean Refugees, which provided large amounts of cash 
assistance to North Koreans. 
 
4. (SBU) During the 1990s, as the number of North Korean 
refugees arriving in the ROK increased, and more of them came 
from marginalized classes, the ROK's programs shifted to 
providing rehabilitation as well, with the goal of helping 
them adjust to life in South Korean society.  In 1997, the 
ROK passed the "Protection of Defecting North Korean 
Residents and Settlement Support Act" (1997 Protection Act), 
which outlined the Government's policies and programs for 
North Koreans resettled in the ROK.  Through this law, the 
ROK extends protection to North Koreans seeking protection in 
third countries, establishes the criteria for protection to 
be granted, and sets the rights and obligations of refugees. 
The 1997 Protection Act authorizes the establishment of 
resettlement facilities, training programs, and housing 
assistance programs, and outlines North Koreans' access to 
longer-term assistance programs. 
 
5. (SBU) Bureaucratically, the 1997 Protection Act empowers 
the Ministry of Unification (MOU) to grant protection to 
North Koreans, although the National Intelligence Service 
(NIS) also has a role if "national security" is involved. 
Under this Act, the ROK grants protection to all North 
 
SEOUL 00004281  002 OF 003 
 
 
Koreans, unless they have: committed international criminal 
offenses involving aircraft hijacking, drug trafficking, 
terrorism or genocide; committed serious nonpolitical crimes, 
such as murder; are suspected of disguised defection (i.e., 
spies); or have earned a living in another country of 
domicile for a considerable time period or acquired another 
foreign nationality after defecting from North Korea.  NK 
Database Center President Yoon Yeo-sang and several legal 
experts explained that the 1997 Act does not give the ROKG 
the ability to decide which North Koreans can or cannot enter 
the ROK, but empowers the Government to decide who receives 
protected status, including facilitating their transit from 
third countries or extending financial assistance to them. 
 
HANAWON 
------- 
 
6. (SBU) After their arrival, North Koreans are considered 
ROK citizens, entitled to the same public assistance benefits 
as all other South Koreans.  In addition, to help North 
Koreans adjust to life in the South, the ROK has developed an 
assistance program specifically to ease resettlement.  Key to 
the ROK's program is the Hanawon resettlement facility, which 
nearly all North Koreans attend for 10 weeks following 
completion of a preliminary screening process.  Hanawon's 
programs provide North Koreans with a basic understanding of 
South Korean society, democratic and free market principles 
and human rights, as well as educational and vocational 
training (Refs A and B). 
 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 
-------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) The ROKG has periodically adjusted its assistance 
package as the number of North Koreans entering the ROK 
increased and as experts learned more about their 
effectiveness.  At present, the ROKG provides all North 
Korean refugees with a basic payment of KRW 10 million (about 
USD 10,000), with KRW 3 million (USD 3,000) paid upon 
graduation from Hanawon and the remaining KRW 7 million (USD 
7,000) paid in three-month installments over two years.  The 
ROKG provides additional incentive payments up to KRW 15.4 
million (USD 15,400) for North Koreans who complete training 
programs or obtain long-term stable employment.  Senior 
citizens and persons with disabilities or long-term illness 
are provided with up to KRW 15.4 million (USD 15,400) in 
additional funds.  The ROKG provides North Korean resettlers 
with public housing or with KRW 10 million (USD 10,000) for 
leasing their own apartment.  In addition to this assistance, 
North Korean refugees also have access to the ROK's Basic 
Livelihood Security (or welfare) program, unemployment 
assistance, old-age pension, and medical insurance and 
benefits.  According to MOU statistics, 72 percent of North 
Koreans receive Basic Livelihood Security Assistance and 80 
percent receive health insurance benefits. 
 
VOCATIONAL SUPPORT 
------------------ 
 
8. (SBU) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) assigns each North 
Korean an employment protection officer, who helps them find 
employment and obtain additional vocational training.  The 
MOL recruits companies to hire North Korean resettlers, and 
subsidizes 50 percent of their wages for two years.  North 
Koreans under 25 are exempt from paying middle and high 
school tuition fees, and those under 35 are provided with 
free university tuition.  The ROKG has established special 
schools for North Koreans to help them overcome educational 
gaps and better integrate into the public education system 
(Ref C).  The ROK has also established quotas for North 
 
SEOUL 00004281  003 OF 003 
 
 
Korean refugees at universities to ease the admission 
process. 
 
IN-KIND VS. CASH ASSISTANCE 
--------------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) The above package of assistance has been in place 
since 2005, when the ROKG reduced the amount of up-front 
assistance to address the prevailing complaint that many 
North Koreans  paid most or all of their resettlement 
assistance to brokers who assisted in their journey to the 
South (Ref D).  Some experts ascribe different motives. 
Kookmin University scholar Andrei Lankov argued that the 
change was a way for the ROK to reduce the number of North 
Koreans coming to the ROK by discouraging "chain defection," 
in which North Koreans paid brokers to bring family members 
to the ROK.  Han Ki-hong, President of NK Net, agreed with 
the ROKG's goal of helping North Koreans become more 
self-sufficient through incentive packages, but also thought 
the reduction of up-front assistance was motivated in part to 
keep refugees from giving money to brokers to bring their 
family members to the ROK. 
 
10. (SBU) Some practitioners who work directly with North 
Korean refugees in the resettlement process believe that the 
financial assistance provided should be further restructured, 
however, with an even greater focus on self-sufficiency.  The 
director of one of the largest private resettlement centers 
for North Koreans argued that the ROK should provide 
financial assistance for a shorter time period so refugees 
are encouraged to obtain employment more quickly. 
 
HUMANITARIAN VS. POLITICAL GOALS 
-------------------------------- 
 
11. (SBU) The ROKG continues to balance the humanitarian and 
political aspects of its programs for North Korean refugees. 
While the goal of the ROK's resettlement program is helping 
North Koreans adjust to life in the ROK, Lee Kang-rak said 
that helping this population succeed is an important 
preparation for unification, allowing the ROK to determine 
how best to integrate North Koreans.  Asia Foundation Program 
Director Moon Chun-sang argued that the ROK should think 
beyond its current welfare-focused approach to resettlement 
and move toward a unification approach that would help 
prepare North Koreans for a meaningful role in a unified 
Korea, particularly by providing advanced educational 
opportunities to refugees. 
VERSHBOW