North Korean Defectors Also Suffer from Severe 'Corona Blue'... Establishing Mental Health Support Systems

Hana One-Stop Center - Hana Foundation - National Center for Mental Health MOU

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Unification's Office for the Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors (Hanawon) and the North Korean Defectors Support Foundation (Hanajedan) announced on the 19th that they will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Center for Mental Health to support the mental health of North Korean defectors.

Lee Joo-tae, director of Hanawon, explained the background of this MOU signing, stating, "With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, interest in mental health issues such as 'Corona Blue' has increased, and North Korean defectors are also in a situation that requires careful attention."

Through this agreement, the three organizations will establish a mutual cooperation system for ▲mental health projects and support systems for North Korean defectors ▲research and education training ▲medical consultation and treatment related to mental health.

Lee Young-moon, director of the National Center for Mental Health, said, "North Korean defectors often have limited access to COVID-19 related information and have little contact with outsiders, so they need to be observed with care."

He added, "Through this agreement, we hope to build a joint cooperation system that will greatly assist in research and education training to promote and support the mental health of North Korean defectors."

Jung In-sung, chairman of Hanajedan, said, "We are very grateful that a system has been established to provide support for the psychological difficulties experienced during the defection and settlement process," and added, "We will cooperate with the 25 Hanacenter locations nationwide to ensure that those who truly need help are connected and can make good use of the support."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.