05/27(Mon) 18:12

Aid to NK Defectors to Be Limited for Misbehavior

The government decided at a cabinet meeting Monday, to reduce support from June for North Koreans staying at Hanawon, a support facility, who refuse to learn about life in Korea, or disrupt others willing to be educated on the free market economy. Currently it pays W29.5 million annually per person to the facility, which aims to provide defectors the means to live in the South. In addition it will reduce money given to defectors who already have family living in the country.

A Ministry of Unification official said that to date there was nothing special to censure those who caused trouble in Hanawon, adding the government measure was aimed at making people more independent in settling their lives and to curb unacceptable behavior. The official said the government was preparing related guidelines and rules to delineate possible deduction scales, while also mapping out security measures to minimize side effects.

(Kim In-gu, ginko@chosun.com)