South Korean lawmakers call for reform in North Korean defector employment and protection

Recent data from the South Korean National Assembly highlights challenges regarding the employment and protection of North Korean defectors.

According to lawmaker Kim Jun-hwan, there has been a shift in the employment landscape within government and public institutions. While the number of North Korean defectors in regular civil service positions decreased from 119 in 2024 to 113 in 2025, the number of non-regular administrative support roles rose from 92 to 112. Kim has called for the reinstatement of North Korean defector employment performance as an evaluation metric for local governments, noting it was recently removed from joint evaluation indicators.

Separately, lawmaker Jung Chung-rae reported that as of August 2026, 20,401 North Korean defectors—approximately 64.7% of the total population—are under personal protection. A significant 96.1% of these individuals have been under protection for more than five years, suggesting a trend of automatic extensions rather than targeted assistance. Jung criticized the current system for being overly broad and potentially diluting police resources, arguing that the protection framework needs a major overhaul to focus on high-risk individuals and ensure transparency in protection guidelines.