(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on July 10)

Skimpy Defector Policy: Seoul Needs to Provide More Extensive, Effective Supports

South Korea has long asked China to refrain from sending North Korean defectors
back to their impoverished, politically oppressive homeland. For quite a few
escapees, however, life in the south has proved not much better ??? even worse in
some ways ??? than in the north because of poor preparedness not only of
themselves but also on the part of their new country.

The biggest problem is economic difficulty, summed up as high unemployment and
low living standards. With only 13 percent of job seekers managing to find
employers, it seems natural defectors lament that ``landing jobs in South Korea
is even harder than escaping from North Korea."
One reason is the overall shrinkage of the job market here, as shown by the
ongoing social debate on temporary workers. The other has much to do with the
fundamental qualifications of ??? or lack thereof ??? defectors, whose college
diploma and technical certificates in North Korea are all but useless in the
south. Worse, the majority of recently arrived people are unskilled, including
women and students, who have simply fled from poverty and hunger.
So all this boils down to how Seoul can help them resettle here, starting from
mental adjustment to the new, capitalist economy and moving toward more
specialized vocational training.
This is why ``Hanawon (House for Oneness)," the government's main resettlement
center that has faithfully played its role as the provider of basic training for
exactly 10 years as of Wednesday, needs to drastically expand its scope and
diversify educational programs.
With the number of yearly North Korean arrivals exceeding 3,000, the facility's
capacity has long passed its limits and its three-month crash course cannot give
much more than the very basics for living in South Korea, like the use of ATMs
and the ABCs for operating personal computers.
There may, of course, be limits for the government's budget increase for defector
resettlement in view of a balance with other sectors, but there are ample reasons
why the Lee Myung-bak administration should put particular emphasis on this area.
President Lee, in an interview during his ongoing European swing, has all but put
a final nail in the coffin of inter-Korean rapprochement, saying ``I suspect
North Korea used economic aid from South Korea to build up its nuclear capability
over the past decade," and describing Kim Jong-il as the leader of ``the world's
most closed society." Koreans would do well to forget about any improvement in
ties between Koreas at least while Lee is in office.
It's not clear that the conservative leader's Cold War mentality will help to
prolong the national division or rather facilitate its reunification. But, in any
case, one of the Lee administration's top priorities should be to provide the
best support available for people escaping from its archrival.
If for no other reason than differentiating itself from the unsatisfactory
performances of previous liberal governments in this area, the incumbent
administration needs to provide more extensive and effective support for
defectors.
(END)