Weak health top hurdle for N. Korean defectors' employment: lawmaker

North Korean defectors settling in the South are facing hurdles in finding stable jobs due to weak health, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday, urging the government to expand health care support.

According to the data compiled by Rep. Sim Jae-kwon of the Minjoo Party of Korea, around 40 percent of unemployed North Korean defectors living in the South said they left previous jobs due to health conditions. The survey was conducted in 2015 on 72 defectors.

Rep. Sim Jae-kwon of the Minjoo Party of Korea (Yonhap)

Around 36 percent of the respondents said they wished to receive more medical support from the government, while 7.6 percent also expressed the need for psychological help due to traumatic experiences their endured while making their escape from the North.

A local foundation supporting defectors' settlement said females are more likely to have weakened health as they experienced pregnancy in the North amid poor medical facilities and malnutrition.

"The health issue is standing as a major hurdle for the defectors' economic activities," Sim said, adding the government must take more active steps to reorganize existing support systems. (Yonhap)