South Korea’s presidential advisory council on unification has been taken over by ex-North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho. This selection puts him among the highest-ranking defectors out of thousands who have resettled in the South and the first position as vice-minister. He fled to South Korea from his post as Pyongyang’s deputy ambassador to the UK in 2016.
Pyongyang Denouncement
The North Korean capital described Mr Tae as “human scum” and accused him of embezzling state funds among other crimes, according to state media. But he continued climbing up through the ranks of South Korean politics ignoring these allegations.
Political Career in South Korea
In 2020, he became the first former citizen of North Korea to win a seat in South Korea’s National Assembly. Though he failed to secure a second term during the April parliamentary elections, his new role will involve advising Yoon Suk Yeol’s office at Cheong Wa Dae on peaceful Korean unification.“He is the right person to lay out a peaceful unification policy based on liberal democracy and seek support both domestically and internationally,” said an official from the presidential office Thursday.
Early Life & Defection
Born in 1962 in Pyongyang, Tae spent almost three decades working for three generations of Kim family leaders after joining foreign service at age 27. He defected because he did not want children growing up under such a regime which led him to express disgust towards Kim Jong Un as well as admiration for democracy seen in South Korea while speaking about one event that changed his life forever – “I came across a boy who was eating grass off roadside near my home”.
Memoir & Advocacy
In this year’s memoirs where he detailed stories about life within the North Korean elites’ circle filled with excessiveness and also spoke against personality cult building around Kims since defecting called the soft power approach aimed to weaken them even further still pushing prisoner swaps between two sides.
Growing Koreas Tensions
Lately, there has been an increase in tension between the two countries with Seoul restarting propaganda broadcasts into North Korea as a response to trash-filled balloon launches from Pyongyang towards South Korea. Satellite images indicate that North Korea might be beefing up its military presence and erecting walls along the southern border.
Defector Statistics
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said last December more than 34 thousand individuals have come over from North Korea since the division of the peninsula. Most defectors pass through China before reaching the South, where they automatically receive citizenship and some resettlement money.
Recent High-Profile Defection
Seoul’s intelligence agency confirmed a high-ranking official who had been stationed in Cuba recently defected. Local media identified him as Ri Il Kyu;52 years old man disillusioned by a bleak future under the regime stated “Every North Korean thinks at least once about living in South Korea”.
North Korean Defectors’ Day
On the first-ever North Korean Defectors’ Day last Sunday, President Yoon Suk Yeol promised more financial aid to defectors and tax incentives for companies employing them.
