Yoon's Directive to Establish 'Day of North Korean Defectors' on July 14
by Mun Jewon
Published 21 Feb.2024 13:50(KST)
Updated 21 Feb.2024 14:05(KST)
Commemoration Event for the First North Korean Defector Day on July 14 This Year
The government has decided to designate July 14 as "North Korean Defectors Day."
On the 21st, Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, announced at the launch ceremony of the National Integration Committee's "Special Committee for Accompanying North Korean Defectors" held at the Government Seoul Office that they will promote the establishment of July 14 as "North Korean Defectors Day."
Earlier, on the 16th of last month, President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed the Ministry of Unification to promote the establishment of "North Korean Defectors Day," stating at the Cabinet meeting, "North Korean defectors are citizens of the Republic of Korea according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea."
Minister Kim explained that the date was chosen after compiling opinions from North Korean defectors, civil society, and relevant government ministries, considering the significance and symbolism of the enforcement of the "Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors" (hereinafter referred to as the North Korean Defectors Act), which forms the legal basis for the status and settlement support policies of North Korean defectors.
The North Korean Defectors Act was passed by the National Assembly in December 1996 through bipartisan agreement during the Kim Young-sam administration and came into effect on July 14, 1997.
The number of North Korean defectors was fewer than 10 per year on average until 1993, but increased to around 50 annually starting from the 1994 period of the Arduous March. In 1997, 68 defectors entered the country. The North Korean Defectors Act was enacted at a time when the cumulative number of defectors was only 848 in 1997.
The government unified defector policies under the then Ministry of Unification (now the Ministry of Unification) and consolidated various scattered regulations related to North Korean defectors into the current North Korean Defectors Act.
Minister Kim stated that the presidential decree on "Regulations on Various Commemorative Days" will be amended in the first half of the year, and the first "North Korean Defectors Day" commemorative event will be held on July 14 this year. Along with this, a memorial space will be created to remember North Korean defectors who sacrificed during the defection process.
Meanwhile, the "Special Committee for Accompanying North Korean Defectors" will, starting from the launch ceremony on this day, conduct a comprehensive review of settlement support policies for North Korean defectors and prepare improvement measures by the end of May.
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