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Policy on North Korean Defectors

본문영역

Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea
Category ~'98 ~'01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25 ’26 Total
Male 831 565 510 474 626 424 515 573 608 662 591 795 404 369 305 251 302 188 168 202 72 40 35 32 26 25 4 9,597
Female 116 478 632 811 1,272 960 1,513 1,981 2,195 2,252 1,811 1,911 1,098 1,145 1,092 1,024 1,116 939 969 845 157 23 32 164 210 198 59 25,003
Total 947 1,043 1,142 1,285 1,898 1,384 2,028 2,554 2,803 2,914 2,402 2,706 1,502 1,514 1,397 1,275 1,418 1,127 1,137 1,047 229 63 67 196 236 223 63 34,600
Percent age of female defecto rs 12.2% 45.8% 55.3% 63.1% 67.0% 69.4% 74.6% 77.6% 78.3% 77.3% 75.4% 70.6% 73.1% 75.6% 78.2% 80.3% 78.7% 83.3% 85.2% 80.7% 68.6% 36.5% 47.8% 83.7% 89.0% 88.8% 93.7% 72.3%

Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group
Category Ages 0-9 Ages 10-19 Ages 20-29 Ages 30-39 Ages 40-49 Ages 50-59 Ages 60 and older Total
Male 653 1,716 2,650 2,181 1,414 614 362 9,590
Female 646 2,117 7,059 7,754 4,785 1,566 1,019 24,946
Total 1,299 3,833 9,709 9,935 6,199 2,180 1,381 34,536

※ The figures are based on the ages when they entered South Korea and may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North
Category Management Military Workers Unemployed Volunteer sector Arts and sports Professions Non-target (children) Total
Male 421 725 4,219 3,221 95 83 249 577 9,590
Female 144 175 9,557 12,094 1,500 226 543 707 24,946
Total 565 900 13,776 15,315 1,595 309 792 1,284 34,536

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities (The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical

Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North
Category Preschool child Kindergarten Primary school Secondary school (Middleand highschool) College University and higher education Uneducated Other (unidentified) Total
Male 419 135 807 5,782 872 1,162 362 51 9,590
Female 406 223 1,544 18,127 2,778 1,243 523 102 24,946
Total 825 358 2,351 23,909 3,650 2,405 885 153 34,536

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities, and they include dropouts for each educational level.
※ The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical data and the category of Other includes those who entered Hanawon recently and did not fill in their academic background.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North
Cate gory Kangwon Nampo Ryang gang Jagang South Pyongan North Pyongan Pyong yang South Hamg yong North Hamg yong South Hwang hae North Hwang hae Kaesong Other (uniden tified) Total
Male 228 78 1,567 80 466 380 527 784 4,871 276 190 48 95 9,590
Female 390 95 4,673 172 667 516 370 2,156 15,236 215 290 35 131 24,946
Total 618 173 6,240 252 1,133 896 897 2,940 20,107 491 480 83 226 34,536

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Region
Region Seoul Gyeonggi Incheon Busan North Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Daegu North Chung cheong South Chung cheong and Sejong
Male 1,945 2,825 791 196 236 226 122 296 375
Female 4,318 8,540 2,220 618 908 813 474 1,146 1,472
Total 6,263 11,365 3,011 814 1,144 1,039 596 1,441 1,847
Region Gwangju Gangwon Daejeon South Jeolla North Jeolla Ulsan Jeju Total
Male 110 211 119 126 108 113 63 7,861
Female 393 725 452 548 436 342 275 23,680
Total 503 936 571 674 544 455 338 31,541

※ The figures do not include those who are dead, whose resident registrations were cancelled, who emigrated, whose residences are unknown, and who are in protection facilities.

Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))
Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors
Category ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25
Percentage of recipients receiving livelihood benefits 54.8 54.9 51.3 46.7 40.8 35 32.3 25.3 24.4 24.4 23.8 23.8 23.8 22.8 22.6 22.7 22.9 23.4
Dropout rates(primary, middle, and highschool) 10.8 6.1 4.9 4.7 3.3 3.46 2.5 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.5 3.0 2.9 1.2 1.6 1.9 2.7 2.2

Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))
Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors
Category ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25
Activity Rates 49.6 48.6 42.6 56.5 54.1 56.9 56.6 59.4 57.9 61.2 64.8 62.1 60.1 61.3 63.0 63.4 64.1 64.8
Employment rates 44.9 41.9 38.7 49.7 50 51.4 53.1 54.6 55 56.9 60.4 58.2 54.4 56.7 59.2 60.5 60.1 61.3
Unemploy ment rates 9.5 13.7 9.2 12.1 7.5 9.7 6.2 4.8 5.1 7 6.9 6.3 9.4 7.5 6.1 4.5 6.3 5.4