N. Korean defectors three times more likely to be unemployed: survey

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean defectors are three times more likely to be unemployed than average South Koreans, a survey said Saturday, showing their difficulty in adapting to the capitalist economy.

According to a survey of 361 defectors by the privately-run Database Center for
North Korea Human Rights in Seoul, 9.5 percent of those capable of working said
they were unemployed. The figure is by far higher than the average jobless rate
of about 3 percent among South Koreans.
"North Korean defectors find it difficult to compete with South Korean people in
age, educational background, training and career records," Huh Sun-haeng, a
center official, said.
Over 15,000 North Koreans are currently living in South Korea after fleeing their
communist homeland. The two countries remain divided by a heavily armed border
after fighting the 1950-53 Korean War.
Most North Korean defectors arrive here via China and other Asian neighbors. They
undergo rudimentary job training, but their earnings and job quality remain far
below par, the survey showed.
An average defector earns just 937,000 won (US$689) per month, the survey said,
while 60 percent of those employed hoped their job conditions would improve. The
per capita gross national income for an average South Korean is US$20,000.
More than 40 percent of North Korean defectors work in part-time jobs that do not
guarantee long-term or lifetime employment, the survey said. The figure is more
than four times higher than the official South Korean average.
"Defectors have difficulties in getting employed, and if they are employed, they
often end up in menial jobs such as work at manufacturing facilities or diners,"
Huh said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)