"If You Ran Away, Live Quietly" Blocking North Korean Calls... Bill Proposed to Protect Defectors' Information

Jiseongho, People Power Party Lawmaker, Leads Amendment Bill on Protection and Settlement Support for North Korean Defectors

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "If you ran away, live quietly. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee the safety of your family remaining in North Korea."

This is part of the content of threatening phone calls received by some North Korean defectors (Talbukmin) activists who have settled in South Korea and are working to improve human rights in North Korea. To prevent information about defectors from leaking to North Korea, a bill to strengthen information protection for them has been introduced.

Ji Seong-ho, a member of the People Power Party and a defector himself, announced on the 2nd that he has taken the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the "Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors," which stipulates that anyone who provides defector information to others without justifiable reason shall be punished by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won, and that any loss, theft, or leakage of information must be mandatorily reported.

Defector information refers to personal information as defined by the Personal Information Protection Act, plus information that can identify defectors such as the region, occupation, year of defection, and Hana Center batch number during their residence in North Korea.

Since the leakage or loss of defector information can threaten the safety of their families remaining in North Korea, strict security management is required. However, in August 2020, an employee at the Gangwon Northern Hana Center lost a storage device containing personal information of hundreds of defectors and left it unreported for over a year.

Rep. Ji said, "Considering the special nature of defectors, information about their past life in North Korea is more sensitive than unique identification information," adding, "Although they came to South Korea seeking freedom, there are cases where they are threatened by the North Korean regime, so defector information must be protected more thoroughly," explaining the purpose of the bill.