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DE RUEHUL #4282/01 3490905
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O 150905Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1934
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7723
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1845
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1746
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 6415
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 1425
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 2028
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0273
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2420
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 8658
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0077
RUDKIA/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0906
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1255
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0020
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3047
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0062
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 3238
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1170
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 004282 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV PREL KTIP KS KN
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES: FIRST STEPS INTO ROK SOCIETY 
 
REF: A. SEOUL 1837 
     ¶B. 05 SEOUL 666 
     ¶C. SEOUL 695 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Upon arrival in the ROK, North Koreans 
undergo an interagency security screening process, during 
which the ROKG seeks to confirm refugees' bona fides and 
assess security risks.  Thereafter, nearly all North Koreans 
move to the ROK's Hanawon resettlement facility, where they 
receive training to help them better adjust to life in the 
ROK.  The ROK provides North Koreans with housing upon their 
graduation from Hanawon, and a network of government and 
civil society organizations help refugees adjust to life in 
their new communities.  In light of security concerns, the 
ROK provides North Koreans with personal protection officers 
for five years after arriving in the ROK, and for longer 
periods for high-profile individuals.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SECURITY SCREENING PROCESS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) After arrival in the ROK, most North Koreans are 
sent to a screening facility for a joint investigation by 
government agencies ) National Intelligence Service (NIS), 
Ministry of Unification (MOU), Ministry of National Defense 
(MND), National Police Agency (KNPA), and Ministry of Justice 
(MOJ).  According to Korea Institute for National Unification 
(KINU) Senior Research Fellow Lee Keum-soon, the security 
screening process served several purposes in the past, 
including to gather intelligence and determine if individuals 
were really North Korean refugees or instead North Korean 
spies or ethnic-Korean Chinese.   As the demographics of 
refugees have changed, however, Lee said that the process is 
primarily focused on ensuring that individuals are really 
North Korean refugees and not ethnic Koreans from China. 
(NOTE: Some North Koreans ) perhaps as few as ten per year 
) enter the ROK under NIS protection and bypass some or all 
of this process. END NOTE.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Lee, the security screening is 
conducted at a facility in Seoul that is disguised as a 
business.  North Koreans live in a dormitory located on the 
same grounds during the screening process, and also undergo 
medical screening while at the facility.  Lee Young-seok, 
Program Officer with Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human 
Rights, reported that the investigation is often completed in 
two weeks or less, but the total length of time that refugees 
spend at the facility depends on the availability of space at 
the Hanawon resettlement facility.   NGOs report that, in 
most cases, North Koreans remain at the screening facility no 
longer than one month.  According to NGOs and refugees, 
refugees are allowed to come and go from the facility once 
their investigation is complete and until space is available 
for them to enter Hanawon.  One North Korean refugee who 
arrived in the ROK in December 2000 told us that the facility 
was clean and that he was able to explore the city after his 
two-week investigation was completed.  NGOs also told us that 
the screening facilities were of acceptable conditions. 
 
HANAWON 
------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Following the security screening process, most North 
Korean refugees enter the ROK's Hanawon resettlement facility 
(Refs A and B).  Pak Yong-sok, Director of Hanawon's 
Education Planning Team, told Poloff on November 21 that 
Hanawon's programs were shortened from twelve to ten weeks in 
September 2006 to allow more North Koreans to pass through 
the center.  Shortening the program by two weeks has not 
significantly reduced the amount of education trainees 
 
SEOUL 00004282  002 OF 005 
 
 
receive, Pak said.  Hanawon has also initiated several 
community-exchange programs, including job training at a 
nearby polytechnical school and home-stays with South Korean 
families.  Such programs allow Hanawon trainees to interact 
with South Korean society and gain real-world experience. 
While Hanawon officially accommodates 400 trainees at a time, 
the facility is currently over capacity.  Hanawon plans to 
build additional facilities, allowing it to accommodate 
2,800-3,000 trainees per year by 2009, Pak said. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Several NGO and community representatives who work 
with North Korean refugees recommended that Hanawon's 
programs be shortened further or conducted part-time to allow 
North Koreans to receive an education on ROK society while 
beginning their integration into it.  NK Database President 
Yoon Yeo-sang argued that learning about the ROK while 
separated from ROK society is ineffective.  Hanawon's Pak 
acknowledged such concerns, noting that after having spent 
time in confined shelters or detention in third countries, 
refugees are anxious to start their lives in South Korea. 
Several civil society leaders argued that the role of Hanawon 
should be minimized, if not eliminated, in North Koreans 
resettlement, and civil society organizations should instead 
provide refugees with similar training in their communities. 
Former Hanawon Director Lee Kang-rak, now Secretary-General 
of the Association of Supporters for Defecting North Korean 
Residents, said that the ROK is currently focused on 
increasing the role of civil society organizations in the 
resettlement process, but noted that this will require 
increased coordination among such organizations. 
 
ENTERING THE MAINSTREAM 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Upon graduation from Hanawon, the ROKG provides 
North Korean refugees with housing assistance, either public 
housing (provided through the Korean National Housing 
Corporation or local governments), or 10 million KRW (USD 
10,000) for North Koreans to obtain their own housing. 
KINU's Lee reported that North Koreans who choose public 
housing (87 percent according to MOU) are entitled to live in 
public housing for an indefinite time period, and are 
allocated specific amounts of space depending on the size of 
their household.  Refugees select where they want to live, 
and most refugees opt to live in Seoul, even though the ROKG 
provides incentives to encourage refugees to live in other 
regions where there are greater job opportunities for 
refugees.  NK Database's Yoon reported that until recently, 
North Korean youth who arrive in the ROK without their 
parents were cared for by ten civil society organizations 
designated by the ROKG, which ran group homes for them. 
Since the opening of the Hankyoreh School (Ref D), Yoon 
reported that the ROKG sends most such teenagers there, with 
the role of the civil society organizations now unclear. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Because of limited public housing in Seoul, 
particularly with units large enough to meet the ROK's 
requirements, North Koreans generally live in three public 
housing areas in Seoul, according to NK Net President Han 
Ki-hong.  Refugees report that they are integrated with other 
South Koreans in the housing complexes.  Under the 1997 
Protection Act, North Korean refugees are required to report 
changes of residence, occupation or place of employment for 
five years after their initial resettlement. (NOTE: All ROK 
residents are required to report changes in their residence 
under the Korean Identification (KID) system. END NOTE.) 
 
¶8. (SBU) Numerous government agencies and NGOs play a role in 
the resettlement of North Korean refugees.  The MOU oversees 
the ROKG's programs upon North Koreans' arrival in the ROK. 
 
SEOUL 00004282  003 OF 005 
 
 
The Ministry of Labor provides employment protection 
officers, subsidizes North Koreans' wages to employers, and 
recruits companies to hire North Koreans.  The Ministry of 
Education recently started to address the special education 
needs of North Korean refugees, though KINU's Lee Keum-soon 
said its role remains relatively limited.  Numerous other 
government ministries, including the Ministry of Culture and 
Tourism and the Ministry of Information and Communication, 
provide funding for civil society programs that assist North 
Korean refugees. 
 
¶9. (SBU) North Korean refugees are provided with two levels 
of government support when they move into the community. 
According to Ministry of Unification Director for Settlement 
Support Suh Dong-hoon, each province has officials charged 
with coordinating programs for North Korean refugees who 
oversee a network of offices in their region.  Each refugee 
is assigned a welfare protection officer (currently 182 
officers) in their locality who oversees the provision of 
financial, medical, and social welfare assistance as well as 
general counseling.  These officers serve as the main liaison 
point between North Koreans and the ROKG. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The 1997 Protection Act established the Association 
for the Support of Defecting North Korean Residents (Support 
Association), a coalition of more than 60 civil society 
organizations charged with assisting North Koreans in 
assimilating into ROK society.  The ROKG funds these 
organizations to provide direct services, including 
educational, psychological, and legal.  The Support 
Association also connects refugees with civilian resettlement 
helpers called "Doeumis" (1,200 total), two of whom are 
assigned to each North Koreans' household for one year, 
according to Support Association President Kim Il-joo and 
ROKG information.  MOU has designated nine organizations, 
including the Korean Red Cross and local welfare centers, to 
implement the Doeumi program.  Kim reported that the 
volunteers bring North Koreans to their new homes, show them 
around their new community, and help them with daily tasks 
such as shopping. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Poloff visited the Hanbit Social Welfare Center, a 
participant in the Doeumi program, on December 4.  Hanbit is 
located in southwest Seoul, in an area home to more than 900 
refugees, the largest concentration of North Koreans in the 
ROK.  The Center, located near public housing complexes where 
many North Koreans live, occupies several areas of a building 
that is decorated with children's artwork.  According to Lee 
Chul-yoo, Hanbit Director, the Center is one of six private 
welfare organizations commissioned by the local government to 
provide direct assistance to North Korean refugees in the 
area.  Working with the Support Association, the Center's 
programs have continued to grow to serve the needs of the 
large population of North Koreans in the area.  According to 
Lee Chun-shik, Director of Hanbit's North Korean Resettlement 
Center, the Center receives funding from numerous government 
agencies to provide psychological services, job training, and 
educational programs, and facilitate exchanges with South 
Koreans in the local community.  Lee reported that the Center 
works closely with the Support Association, other private 
organizations, and local and regional government officials 
who support North Koreans in the community through a 
Coordinating Committee. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Enlisting the support of local governments and 
private welfare centers is part of a move toward 
decentralizing MOU's programs for North Koreans, which MOU's 
Director Suh said is the ROKG's current programming 
direction.  KINU's Lee said that decentralization of the 
programs is important, as MOU does not have the expertise to 
 
SEOUL 00004282  004 OF 005 
 
 
provide all necessary services to North Korean resettlers, 
but noted that interagency coordination needed to be 
improved. 
 
SECURITY CONCERNS AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶13. (SBU) When North Korean refugees enter their communities 
they are also assigned a physical protection officer through 
the Korean National Police Agency.  According to the ROKG, 
approximately 700 officers have been assigned in local police 
stations to provide advice to North Koreans on their personal 
safety.  These protection officers are provided to North 
Koreans for five years, which could be extended for 
individuals who face particular threats.  As the number of 
North Koreans in the ROK has increased, the ROKG can no 
longer provide one-to-one protection as it had in the past. 
According to NK Net President Han Ki-hong, on average, one 
protection officer manages 40 refugees, offering limited 
protection to most North Koreans.  In special cases, however, 
Han reported that the NIS provides additional protection. 
 
¶14. (SBU) NGO leaders and refugee experts report that the 
major security concerns that North Koreans in the ROK face 
are threats from North Korean agents, brokers who helped 
refugees get to the ROK, and threats from other refugees. 
Many North Koreans also fear that public disclosure of their 
identities could lead the North Korean regime to punish 
family members who remain in the DPRK.  Refugee experts and 
NGO practitioners agree that the threat from North Korean 
agents, while still real, has significantly decreased over 
time.  Shim Sang-don, Chief Human Rights Policy Analyst at 
the ROK's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said that 
threats from North Korean agents were more prevalent in the 
past, but have decreased as the number of North Koreans in 
the ROK has increased and their demographics shifted away 
from high-level refugees. 
 
¶15. (SBU) NHRC Deputy Director Park Byoung-soo asserted that 
currently, more security threats come from within the refugee 
community than from North Korean agents.  KINU expert Lee 
Keum-soon said that some former government workers might face 
threats from other North Koreans who had negative experiences 
with these officials or others in similar positions in the 
DPRK.  Lee also said that many refugees commit crimes or 
deceive one another in third countries as they compete for 
survival, and may retaliate if they encounter each other in 
the ROK.  Lee added that threats from brokers to whom 
refugees owe money for helping them get to the ROK are 
another security concern that refugees face.  One female 
North Korean refugee reported that brokers often try to 
collect on their debts after refugees graduate from Hanawon. 
 
¶16. (SBU) NHRC's Park said that the ROKG continues to make 
efforts to improve the protection officer system.  The 
objective of the system is to provide protection to the 
individual, and for most North Koreans their physical 
protection officer served primarily as a case manager or 
advisor.  Some individuals, however, may regard the measures 
as surveillance, Park said.  In particular, some female 
refugees have felt violated by nighttime phone calls from 
male protection officers calling to check on them.  The ROK 
reportedly is trying to designate female officers for the 
growing number of female refugees.  Overall, Park said, the 
ROK is seeking to reduce measures that could be regarded as 
surveillance and better identify refugees who need additional 
protection so that the overall system is less intrusive. 
Several years ago complaints about the protection system were 
a major issue, but the ROKG has made substantial 
improvements, Park said, and has been gradually decreasing 
 
SEOUL 00004282  005 OF 005 
 
 
the role of these officers in the resettlement program. 
VERSHBOW