SEOUL: South Korea said Thursday it would set quotas for the number of refugees to be employed at state agencies as many of them struggle to find decent jobs after crossing the border.
At least one percent of the office assistant positions will be reserved for those who have fled the impoverished North from next month, providing at least 200 jobs every year, the Public Administration Ministry said. The number of people who flee from the North's chronic food shortages and economic woes has grown in recent years despite the threat of severe punishment if they are caught.More than 20,000 people have fled from the North to South Korea since the 1950-53 war, of whom 10,000 arrived between 2008 and 2010.
But many of them complain they cannot find decent jobs and some say they face discrimination at work."The total number of North Korean defectors (living in the South) will likely exceed 30,000 in 2013 from mere 7,600 in 2005, but many of them have difficulty in adjusting," the ministry said in a statement.
"The government needs to be the first to work harder to offer job opportunities for them and eventually encourage more private companies to hire them," it said.Nearly 10 percent of the North Korean defectors living in South Korea are jobless, far higher than the South's average of 3.3 percent, a survey showed last month.
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