[Global NK Interview] Chairman Jeong In-seong (North and South Korea Harmony Foundation)

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_Mpyt4XOU

[Editor's Note]

Global NK Zoom&Connect <Interview> meets with leading South Korean researchers studying North Korea to understand the current state of North Korea research through their voices. In this issue, we met with Jeong In-seong, the chairman of the North and South Korea Harmony Foundation, a public institution established to help defectors settle into our society, to hear about policies for the self-reliant settlement of North Korean defectors and the future prospects for unification in Korea. The North and South Korea Harmony Foundation, a "hub for the integration of North and South Korean residents preparing for unification." This interview provided a clear sense of the foundation's efforts to practically support defectors and promote their social integration as a step towards preparing for unification.

Video Transcript

As the chairman of the foundation that helps our North Korean defectors, I feel it is too presumptuous to mention certain things, and I am unsure if it is appropriate. It may come across as overly confident. However, looking back at inter-Korean relations, there have always been ups and downs. Since the late 1990s, the private sector has been consistently engaged in inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects, and even just before coming here, I have been reflecting on how, despite the constant fluctuations, there has been gradual progress at some point.

Therefore, the important thing is not to view what happens between the North and South as a special variable, but as a constant. If we continue to move forward steadily towards unification without losing hope, I believe we will achieve good results in the future. The current Moon Jae-in administration is also striving for peace on the Korean Peninsula, isn't it? A prime example is the recent proposal for a declaration of the end of the war. This declaration is not just about inter-Korean relations; it ultimately involves all surrounding countries. Therefore, I believe it is an important first step towards normalizing relations.

Furthermore, it would be even more desirable if it could evolve into a peace declaration guaranteed not only by the North and South but also by surrounding countries, or even a peace treaty. Currently, approximately 33,000 North Korean defectors have arrived in the South. This is a population equivalent to a small county settling in our South. Therefore, they are very important neighbors living among us. The most crucial aspect of the support system for defectors' settlement is their self-reliance and independence, and our foundation plays a role in supporting this.

For their self-reliance and independence, we provide support related to employment, housing, and education. There is the North Korean Refugees Act, enacted in 1997. I believe this act is gradually showing its effects, as the rate of livelihood security recipients among defectors has improved to 23.8%, and the employment rate has also significantly increased to 54.4%.

Quantitatively, things seem to be improving significantly. However, what defectors are concerned about is their quality of life. The number of vulnerable defectors is increasing, and there are also complex families formed while living in North Korea, China, and South Korea. In some cases, individuals may have children born in North Korea, China, and South Korea. As these complex families live together, various issues are arising.

Therefore, we believe that improving the quality of life for defectors, both quantitatively and qualitatively, is essential for their successful settlement in our society. The most practical way for defectors to settle in our society is through self-reliance and independence achieved via employment and entrepreneurship. To this end, our foundation is implementing programs such as employment incentives and the "Future Happiness Savings Account." This is a system where if an individual saves a certain amount, the foundation matches it with an equivalent amount.

This is to help them accumulate substantial funds. We believe these employment support policies will be effective. In reality, the effect of the Future Happiness Savings Account for asset formation is visibly improving. What is important for defectors is that they can find jobs or workplaces they prefer, or start their own businesses. Our foundation is currently implementing support policies for this. Specifically, we are diligently carrying out vocational training and other related programs.

Another continuous concern for our defectors is their health. Therefore, we are expanding medical support. Also, as they may lack support systems in South Korea, if certain situations arise, they can easily fall into vulnerable categories. Thus, we plan to strengthen support for vulnerable groups. As mentioned earlier, we are focusing on providing vocational training tailored to their aptitudes, meaning more in-depth education for vocational training.

Those who have come from the North are physically vulnerable, but also psychologically very vulnerable. They have experienced various psychological difficulties while crossing the border or passing through China. Therefore, we plan to expand psychological support and family support for them. Last year, we conducted a survey on the status of North Korean defectors, and the top priority they requested was support for employment and entrepreneurship, followed by medical support, and then housing support, as shown by the actual statistics. Defectors experience prejudice.

There are two types: subjective prejudice, where defectors themselves feel prejudice due to being in a completely different cultural environment, and what I personally refer to as subjective prejudice. Then there is objective prejudice, where the general public holds prejudices against defectors. According to our foundation's survey results, defectors often experience difficulties with cultural communication due to these prejudices.

Therefore, our foundation is implementing language and communication training for defectors and plans to expand these programs further. On the other hand, there is a lack of specialized skills, leading to a skills gap. We provide vocational training to bridge this gap, enabling them to move towards high-quality jobs without feeling incompetent. We are currently providing vocational competency enhancement training. For the general public, we are conducting programs to improve awareness of defectors and social integration education.

Awareness improvement programs are being carried out through various media channels and our advertisements and promotions. We also discover and publicize successful settlement cases of defectors. We recently completed the 8th case presentation this year. Additionally, we are actively conducting social integration education for university students through competitions and for field workers involved in settlement support. Perhaps as a result of these efforts, the survey results show a decreasing trend in discrimination and prejudice.

In the 2017 survey, 23.1% reported experiencing discrimination and prejudice. In 2018, it was 20.2%, and in 2019, it was 17.2%. However, in last year's survey, it slightly increased to about 18%. Our analysis suggests that this might be due to the numerous negative media reports last year, possibly related to inter-Korean issues, which may have had an impact. However, overall, the sentiment of experiencing discrimination and prejudice continues to decrease.

The employees of our foundation are committed with a sense of mission to support defectors for their stable settlement, viewing it as preparation for unification. Observing the defectors, we often feel a sense of "arriving first in unification." This is because there are cultural differences, and as we overcome these differences, we feel that we are "arriving first in unification." I always view unification positively; it is only a matter of time, and I believe it will happen someday because of the aspirations of the people of North and South Korea.

To achieve this, the most important thing is to reduce the feelings of animosity towards each other in our hearts. In simple terms, if we continuously reduce the feelings of dislike, I believe a day will come when we will hold hands and say, "Let's not do this anymore." When I took office, I stated in my inaugural address that while there are no blind spots on our desks, there are definitely blind spots in the field. Therefore, it is important to empathize with the various difficulties that defectors experience in the field.

I emphasized this point. Therefore, whenever possible, I visit the field to listen to their voices and deliberate with our employees on how to provide support. Perhaps as a result of these efforts, this year marks the 11th anniversary of our foundation's establishment, and for the first time in our 11-year history, we received an 'A' grade in the public institution management evaluation. Not only I, but all our employees are very proud and happy about this. It is a very pleasant and gratifying achievement. The regrettable aspect is that right after I took office, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

As the COVID-19 situation worsened, direct damage to our vulnerable defectors was unavoidable. Although the foundation is doing its best in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other welfare systems, there are still individuals facing difficulties. This remains a source of regret. We sincerely congratulate the launch of Global NK, the English web journal of the East Asia Institute, which can introduce North Korea and Korean Peninsula issues to the international community. The North Korean issue and inter-Korean issues are not merely problems of the Korean Peninsula but are among the pressing issues facing East Asia and the international community.

I believe that accurately conveying our voices to the international community and maintaining close communication with the international community are paramount to resolving the issues on the Korean Peninsula. In that sense, the launch of our web journal to inform the international community about various news from the Korean Peninsula and propose sound policies is very timely. Thank you very much for inviting me for this interview.