Arya News - The ministry official said the government plans to analyse suicide-related data in close coordination with local governments.
SEOUL – South Korea plans to develop new in-depth indicators to better detect suicide risk among North Korean defectors, with a particular focus on women, who account for the majority of the defector population, a Unification Ministry official said Wednesday.
The ministry recently completed internal procedures to commission a research project on suicide among defectors and plans to post a public notice in early March, according to the official, who declined to be named. A research firm will be selected by the end of March, with the study expected to run for about five months.
The official said the analysis will reflect the demographic characteristics of defectors in South Korea — where women make up about 70 percent of the 34,538 defectors — and will be carried out by specialists to develop more targeted indicators.
According to the ministry, the average suicide rate among North Korean defectors over the past three years stood at 46 per 100,000 people — about 1.7 times higher than the national average of 27. Data from the Korea Hana Foundation’s 2024 survey showed that 12.8 percent of defectors said they had experienced suicidal impulses, compared with 4.8 percent of the general population, or about 2.6 times higher.
Results from a separate 2025 survey released by the same foundation show that women accounted for 75.5 percent of respondents. By age group, those in their 50s made up the largest share at 29.7 percent, followed by those in their 40s at 26 percent and those in their 30s at 21.7 percent. In terms of residency, 97.5 percent had lived in South Korea for more than five years. The 2025 survey was conducted on 2,500 North Korean defectors aged 15 and over who entered South Korea between January 1997 and December 2024. The fieldwork took place from May to June last year.
The ministry official said the government plans to analyze suicide-related data in close coordination with local governments, focusing on regional Hana Centers that have built trust with defectors over time. “We plan to closely communicate with local governments and analyze suicide-related data primarily through regional Hana Centers that have built trust with North Korean defectors,” the official said.
Hana Centers are social welfare facilities that help defectors who have completed training at the state-run resettlement institute Hanawon adapt to local communities and achieve self-reliance, while also identifying and supporting vulnerable households. A total of 25 centers are currently operating across 16 cities and provinces nationwide.
The ministry has also outlined plans, in cooperation with the Korea Hana Foundation and private companies, to support vulnerable and socially isolated North Korean defectors. These include pilot programs using artificial intelligence platforms to check on defectors’ well-being, expanding welfare check services linked to dairy product deliveries, and promoting peer support and self-help groups within the defector community.
The foundation plans to expand livelihood assistance and strengthen tailored psychological and emotional support to identify early warning signs and respond quickly to at-risk individuals. Starting this year, the government has eased eligibility requirements for medical assistance for North Korean defectors, raising the income threshold from 75 percent to 100 percent of the median income. The move effectively expands coverage beyond the lowest-income bracket to include defectors who may have stable earnings but still face significant medical expenses.
In Gyeonggi Province’s southern region, where many defectors are known to reside, an additional suicide prevention counseling center will open in the first half of this year. The new center will join existing facilities in Incheon and Seoul’s Magok district, bringing the total of such state-affiliated suicide counseling facilities to three across the country.