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UNCLAS SEOUL 001010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF ELAB KS KN
SUBJECT: ROK CHURCH FOUNDATION HELPING NORTH KOREANS START 
NEW LIFE IN SOUTH 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In an effort to provide essential job 
training and employment for North Korean refugees who have 
been resettled in South Korea, a local church group formed 
the "Merry Year Foundation" in 2007.  The Foundation is 
funded by donations from congregation members who generously 
donated enough funds to start a box-making company from the 
ground up.  A South Korean CEO and several engineers will 
provide the technical expertise while the 20-50 North Korean 
employees will provide the low-tech labor.  Workers will be 
compensated above minimum wage in addition to other benefits 
uncommon in similar South Korean operations.  The North 
Korean employees will also attend regular training sessions 
to learn how businesses operate with the hope that they can 
start up their own business in the future with the financial 
backing of the Foundation.  Projects such as this one are 
rare but important because reports estimate that 18 percent 
of North Korean defectors in the ROK are unemployed; a rate 
five times greater than the South Korean unemployment rate. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The God's Will Soong Eui Church was founded in 2001 by 
Pastor Kim Dong-ho on the principle that wealth should be 
used to help those in need.  Two years after its founding the 
church started a micro-credit program designed to provide 
financing for poor South Koreans who showed potential for 
running a business.  In the five years since the program's 
inception, the church has provided financing to 48 
individuals who opened 20 businesses.  Although some of the 
businesses have since failed and closed their doors, Pastor 
Kim Bum-suk said that about two-thirds have succeeded.  A 
group of twelve credit recipients each received approximately 
USD 60,000 and opened a Korean-style fast food chain that has 
seen strong success.  Each of the recipients was able to 
repay the principal of their loan plus the two percent 
interest associated with the loan.  (Note: The church 
subsequently returns the interest payment to the business 
owner as a bonus for successfully paying off the principal 
amount.  End Note.) 
 
¶3. (U) Building on their success in the micro-credit field, 
the church decided in 2005 to expand their efforts to 
encompass North Korean refugees who have been resettled to 
South Korea.  Operating originally under the name "Council 
Preparing for Unification," the church launched its North 
Korean refugee support program with an investment of 
approximately USD 14 million in donations from 5000 
congregation members.  In August 2007, the church established 
the "Merry Year Foundation" to independently manage both 
micro-credit programs and North Korean resettlement 
assistance programs, originally run directly under the 
church.  The new organization also purposely dropped the 
reference to "unification" given the public sensitivities to 
the term. 
 
¶4. (U) With the large cash donation in hand, the Merry Year 
Foundation opened its own office and appointed staff from 
within the ministry to being operations.  Pastor Kim Bum-suk 
from the church's education ministry was appointed as 
Director General of Merry Year.  DG Kim was also previously 
involved in the micro-credit programs.  Merry Year's goal was 
to find ways to assist North Korean refugees who faced many 
challenges in South Korea, especially in finding stable 
employment and integrating into South Korean society.  Merry 
Year drafted a plan to build a business from the ground up 
that would employ North Koreans while also teaching valuable 
business and work-ethic skills.  Those North Koreans who 
exhibited solid work habits and business savvy would then 
become eligible for micro-credit funding to start their own 
business using the same model the church had used for poor 
South Koreans. 
 
STARTING FROM SCRATCH 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Merry Year hired an experienced CEO to start and run 
the business operations of a small box manufacturing company 
to be located in Paju, near the DMZ north of Seoul.  Merry 
Year also hired ten other South Korean engineers with factory 
experience who will maintain equipment and keep the operation 
running.  The 20 North Korean employees who were recently 
selected to work at the factory will initially only provide 
the manual labor associated with the box-making process with 
additional responsibilities added in the future. 
 
 
¶6. (U) In addition to building a business from the ground up, 
DG Kim said that he also needed to provide the North Korean 
employees with extensive education and training before they 
would be ready to take on full-time employment in a typical 
South Korean workplace.  Kim said the North Koreans typically 
do not understand the concept of overtime work.  They often 
call in sick and show up late, lack concern for productivity 
and quality, and exhibit a general lack of honesty in their 
dealings with others, he said.  Kim said that there is also a 
propensity for physical altercations among North Korean 
refugees that often erupt over "trivial" matters.  These were 
all unique challenges that Merry Year would need to address 
in order to keep the box company operating and to achieve the 
broader goal of helping the North Koreans graduate beyond the 
manual labor tasks associated with box making. 
 
MAN CANNOT LIVE ON TOOTHPASTE ALONE 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Despite this long list of challenges, Kim said that 
the North Koreans were genuinely interested in making a 
living and saw the job at the box factory as an important 
opportunity to help secure their future.  According to Kim, 
it took an average of two years after arriving in South Korea 
before the North Korean refugees came to the realization that 
they would need to find a permanent job to provide for their 
needs.  Many North Koreans were able to get by using 
subsidies from the government but recent cut-backs and 
changes in the nature of the subsidies have begun to change 
the way North Koreans think about employment.  (Note: The 
Korean government now provides financial support for six 
months plus a USD 15,000 stipend to North Koreans who have 
maintained steady employment for a three-year period.  In the 
past, all North Koreans received financial support for an 
entire year with no consideration of their employment status. 
 End Note.)  North Korean refugee groups were often 
recipients of donations (both cash and goods) from various 
church and civic groups within South Korea.  Kim described 
the goods donated by these groups as only basic hygiene and 
household items and generally lacking in food and nutritional 
goods.  Indicative of the aid provided by these groups, Kim 
said that the North Koreans have begged Kim and other donors 
to not give any more toothpaste as they typically already had 
dozens of tubes from previous donations. 
 
MERRY OUTLOOK FOR MERRY YEAR? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Director General Kim said that he expected it to take 
at least a year and a half for the North Korean employees to 
learn financial independence as well as the workplace skills 
necessary to transfer to a typical South Korean business 
environment.  In addition to the structured work environment 
at the box factory, scheduled to begin operations later this 
month, Merry Year will also provide training sessions to 
teach other basic business principles on a regular basis.  In 
addition to the 20 employees already slated to work at the 
factory, Kim said they will plan to hire another 20 next 
month with capacity for another ten at a future date. 
According to Kim, the box factory will be self-supporting as 
it is expected to earn about USD 3 million in revenues in the 
first year.  The CEO has already secured contracts to provide 
a variety of packaging boxes for a number of companies 
including the Seoul Milk Company. 
 
¶9. (U) The employees will receive a salary equivalent to 
approximately USD 1200 per month, well above the minimum wage 
of USD 900.  With additional incentives linked to production, 
salaries could reach up to USD 2000 per month; more than 
double the required minimum.  Employees will also be provided 
with a free lunch at the factory as well as free 
transportation to and from work on a shuttle bus that will 
depart from their home neighborhood.  Kim said that he 
expected word of mouth about the lucrative package of 
compensation and benefits to increase interest among North 
Koreans for future job openings.  In the first round of 
hiring, 82 candidates showed up for the initial briefing but 
only 20 chose to accept a position and begin the training. 
DG Kim said the sharp drop in interest was expected given 
that most of the respondents did not know what to expect in 
their first foray into the job market. 
 
¶10. (U) Outside of Merry Year's efforts, Kim suggested that 
the ROKG could also do more to support employment initiatives 
for North Koreans.  Even if the ROKG planned to rely mostly 
on civic groups to provide the job training and employment 
support activities, Kim said that the government should be 
doing more to bring the various players together to better 
coordinate their activities and share ideas.  This idea, 
along with other recommendations, was included in a report 
that the Merry Year Foundation drafted and submitted to the 
Ministry of Unification as a way of prompting the ROKG to get 
more involved.  Kim said that one reason the government was 
not doing more was because of the ever increasing numbers of 
North Koreans arriving in the South, adding that the ROKG has 
not been able to build the internal capacity to adequately 
support these new arrivals in a timely fashion. 
VERSHBOW