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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 ’26.3 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 2 9,595
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 41 24,985
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 43 34,580
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% 95.3% 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 1,715 2,648 2,180 1,414 613 362 9,582
Female 646 2,117 7,052 7,745 4,753 1,548 1,015 24,906
Total 1,299 3,832 9,700 9,925 6,187 2,171 1,377 34,491

※ 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 4,218 3,221 95 83 247 575 9,585
Female 144 174 9,529 12,087 1,498 226 542 706 24,906
Total 565 899 13,747 15,308 1,593 309 789 1,281 34,491

※ 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 419 135 808 5,780 870 1,160 362 51 9,585
Female 406 223 1,542 18,099 2,771 1,242 522 101 24,906
Total 825 358 2,350 23,879 3,641 2,402 884 152 34,491

※ 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 1,565 80 466 380 525 783 4,871 276 190 48 95 9,585
Female 390 95 4,658 172 666 516 369 2,154 15,215 215 290 35 131 24,906
Total 618 173 6,223 252 1,132 896 894 2,937 20,086 491 480 83 226 34,491

※ 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 1,949 2,819 790 194 236 226 123 296 374
Female 4,334 8,518 2,219 622 912 813 476 1,136 1,465
Total 6,283 11,337 3,009 816 1,148 1,039 599 1,432 1,839
Region Gwangju Gangwon Daejeon South Jeolla North Jeolla Ulsan Jeju Total
Male 112 212 120 124 108 111 65 7,859
Female 396 723 450 545 432 342 274 23,657
Total 508 935 570 669 540 453 339 31,516

※ 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