North Korean defector-turned-journalist recognized as abduction victim, family to receive compensation

The family of a North Korean defector-turned-journalist abducted by Pyongyang will receive government compensation, as he has been formally recognized as an abduction victim, the Unification Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry's compensation review committee approved a payout of roughly 19 million won (US$12,400) to the family of Ham Jin-woo, who vanished in May 2017 while working as a journalist of a North Korea-focused media outlet along the North Korea-China border.

The total sum was calculated based on the minimum wage and the length of his captivity, the ministry said.

Thursday's decision follows the government's formal designation of Ham as an abductee victim in March.

To date, Seoul has paid compensation to the families of six South Korean abductees, excluding one who has no family members in the South.

"The decision was made in line with the government's stance that it broadly recognizes abductee victims arising from the separation of the two Koreas and continues to actively solve their sufferings," the ministry said.

North Korea has detained seven South Koreans — three missionaries and four North Korean defectors who obtained South Korean nationality. Six other people, apart from Ham, are believed to have been held in the North for more than a decade.

Yonhap