South Korea vows to prevent 'forced' repatriation of N. Korean defectors

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Sunday that Seoul will "spare no diplomatic effort" to prevent the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors overseas.

"We will spare no diplomatic effort to ensure North Korean defectors in a foreign country aren't repatriated to the North against their will," he said during the commemoration of the inaugural North Korean Defectors' Day held at Cheong Wa Dae, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

Addressing around 200 defectors and their family members, Yoon said their "pursuit of freedom" serves as a reminder of how freedom can change people's fate.

"I will do my best to ensure everyone who defects from North Korea will be embraced by the Republic of Korea," Yoon said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

As part of that effort, Yoon said resettlement funds provided to the defectors, which have been at the same level since 2005, will be substantially increased.

He also said the central and regional governments and state-run institutions will hire more defectors.

Tax credits, among other incentives, will be offered to companies that employ defectors, he added.

During a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 16, Yoon instructed the unification ministry to designate a day for North Korean defectors, insisting that those defectors are South Korean citizens under the Constitution.

The ministry then chose July 14 as the official day for the defectors because the law on protecting them and supporting their settlement in the South went into effect on July 14, 1997.