National Unity Committee "Terminology for North Korean Defectors Should Be Unified... Proposes Bukbaegyeong Residents and Talbuk Gukmin"

On the afternoon of the 12th of last month, Kim Han-gil, Chairman of the National Integration Committee, spoke at the 2nd Regional Council Presidents' Meeting held at Hwagae Market in Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Committee for National Cohesion suggested on the 10th that the terms referring to North Korean defectors are mixed and should be unified as 'Bukbaegyeong Jumin' (North Korean Background Residents) or similar.

On the same day, the Committee held a policy proposal symposium of the Special Committee on 'Walking Together with Bukbaegyeong Jumin' at the Ministry of Unification's Inter-Korean Integration Culture Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and announced the special committee's policy proposals containing this content.

The special committee first explained that to improve social perception of North Korean defectors, the currently mixed social terms such as Talbukmin (defectors) and Saeteomin (new settlers) should be unified into terms that represent North Korean identity and offset the negative image associated with defection from North Korea.

The special committee proposed examples such as Bukbaegyeong Jumin and Talbuk Gukmin (Defector Citizens).

Bukbaegyeong Jumin is a term that can also include children of North Korean defectors born in third countries. Similar cases use terms like 'Ijubaegyeong Jumin' (Migration Background Residents) and 'Ijubaegyeong Cheongsonyeon' (Migration Background Youth).

Also, Talbuk Gukmin implies that North Korean defectors are citizens of the Republic of Korea, following the Supreme Court precedent that first confirmed North Korean defectors as Korean citizens.

The special committee pointed out that the English terms for North Korean defectors are also used differently in related laws and enforcement decrees, and recommended unifying the term as 'Defector.'

Additionally, the special committee explained the need to establish related grounds within the North Korean Defectors Act to support education expenses for children of North Korean defectors and to strengthen Korean language education, such as operating Korean language classes for children born in third countries.

They also emphasized the need to improve official information accessibility regarding financial fraud cases and to establish a legal support system among related institutions.

Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho said in his congratulatory remarks at the symposium, "The Ministry of Unification has actively participated in and supported the activities of the special committee so far," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that the special committee's proposals are concretized into policies."

Kim Han-gil, Chairman of the National Cohesion Committee, said, "I hope that North Korean defectors can move beyond being mere recipients of settlement support and become proud members of the Republic of Korea."