Abductees to Get Aid From Government

The government plans to handout relief funds for families of persons kidnapped by North Korea for more than three years and those who never made it back since the Armistice Agreement, signed on July 27, 1953.

Repatriates detained for more than three years will receive health insurance coverage as well as income and housing support in addition to other governmental aid.

The Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs will announce legislation to substantiate the plans today, unveiling the North Korean Abductees Relief and Support Act.

The government plans to pass the bill during this year’s regular session at the National Assembly and it will be put into effect after a period of six months.

The North Korean Abductees Relief and Support Act only concerns those who were kidnapped after the Armistice Agreement and does not include abductees during the Korean War. The toll of abductees since the armistice stands at 3,790, of which 3,305 have returned, and 485 have not made it back.

This particular case of legislation announcement makes it obligatory for the government to check on the life and death of North Korean abductees as well as strive for their repatriation and reunion with their families.

On the exact numbers concerning the amount of aid, Cho Yong-nam, director general of the Social & Cultural Exchanges Bureau at the Ministry of Unification, said yesterday, “The plan has been mandated by the president and is hard to tell because negotiations with the budget authorities are still going on.”

One member of a group dealing with North Korean abductees referred to the 400 million won worth of aid given to the repatriated prisoners of war and said, “While a different set of outcomes are possible, the amount of relief funds has to correspond to what was received by the prisoners of war.”

taewon_ha@donga.com