Ministry of Unification Appoints 'Defector Diplomat' and Others as Directors of the South-North Hana Foundation

"Increase in North Korean Human Rights Budget to Support Domestic and International Organizations"

Cho Jung-hoon, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The Ministry of Unification has appointed defectors who were former North Korean diplomats as new directors and auditors of the South-North Hana Foundation.

At a regular briefing on the 26th, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Cho Jung-hoon stated that Minister Kwon Young-se presented appointment letters to the new directors Kim Dong-su and Kang In-seon, and the new auditor Choi Gwi-il earlier that morning, urging them to "make efforts to help North Korean defectors settle well in our society."

Director Kim is a defector who worked at the North Korean mission to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the late 1990s before defecting. Since appointing the first defector as a Hana Foundation director in 2016, the Ministry of Unification has steadily filled some of the 10 directors with defectors.

Director Kang is a research fellow at Kyonggi University's Institute for Korean Peninsula Strategic Issues, and the new auditor Choi Gwi-il is a former lawyer, according to the Ministry of Unification. They will serve as non-standing directors and auditors of the Hana Foundation for the next three years.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Unification has significantly increased the budget for promoting North Korean human rights from 1.996 billion KRW this year to 4.08 billion KRW next year. Spokesperson Cho said, "This is to support various activities of domestic and international organizations amid delays in the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation," adding, "The support targets are 667 corporate organizations under the Ministry of Unification and other domestic and international NGOs. Projects related to recording the actual conditions of North Korean human rights, building domestic and international consensus, research, and capacity building will be selected and supported through public contests."