Seoul to expand resettlement facilities for N. Korean defectors

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- Seoul plans to spend 9.3 billion won (US$7.9 million)
next year to build new readjustment and education facilities for defectors from
North Korea, according to a government report Wednesday.
According to the Unification Ministry's 2010 budget proposal report submitted to
the National Assembly, the government aims to use 5.1 billion won to build the
country's second resettlement education center for defectors.
The first resettlement education center, named Hanawon and located in Anseong,
south of Seoul, is capable of accommodating 750 defectors.
The government also plans to provide 4.2 billion won to establish a nationwide
network of regional support "Hana Centers," designed to help improve the welfare
of the North Korean defectors, the report said.
More than 16,000 North Koreans have settled in the South since the end of the
1950-53 Korean War. The number arriving annually has steadily risen, from 1,138
in 2002 to 2,809 last year.
The government plans to break ground for the second Hanawon next year to
facilitate an increasing number of defectors expected to arrive in the South in
the coming years. The government expects some 3,000 more arrivals this year
alone.
Hana Centers are currently set up in Seoul and in the surrounding Gyeonggi
Province. The government plans to establish more centers in southern regions next
year and up to 16 support centers nationwide by 2011.
The unification ministry has asked the National Assembly for a 25-percent budget
increase for next year, compared to this year's 121.5 billion won. The request is
currently being reviewed by lawmakers.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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