Bill proposed to protect North Korea escapees’ support funds

Rep. Ji Seong-ho speaks to The Korea Herald during an interview held at his office at the National Assembly building in Seoul in December last year. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)

South Korean Rep. Ji Seong-ho, who fled North Korea in 2006, proposed a bill that protects North Korean escapees from having their cash assistance taken away by “brokers.”

The bill, which seeks an amendment to the existing laws on the protection and resettlement of North Korean escapees, would allow them to open bank accounts for cash assistance that cannot be seized by a third party.

The South Korean government has been providing financial assistance to people on basic income support via such “seizure-proof” bank accounts since 2011.

North Korean defectors rely on financial and other assistance from the South Korean government for a certain period of time once they get here. Often much of the assistance they receive is used to pay brokers who helped them flee the country.

Many defectors, who are forced to pay the brokers, suffer from financial hardships during the initial phase of resettlement here.

The bill would provide defectors with bank accounts that are proof from being seized while they are being accommodated at the government-run resettlement facilities after they are done being screened by the National Intelligence Service.

Explaining the bill, Ji said in a statement that the special bank accounts would give North Korean defectors the protection that they need as they prepare to get back on their feet, like with other socially vulnerable groups.

By Kim Arin(arin@heraldcorp.com)