The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Yong Hwan Kim, “Korea Eximbank”) announced on December 26 that it donated KRW 20 million to the Employment Support Center for North Korean Defectors run by Together Foundation, a charity that has supported North Korean defectors in their search for employment and economic independence in the South.

Chairman Kim participated in the office-opening ceremony at the enlarged Employment Support Center for North Korean Defectors located in Yangcheon-gu to deliver the donation to Together Foundation’s Chairman Hyung Ok Jang and to congratulate the Foundation’s staff for their work.

Together Foundation has been running the Employment Support Center since 2007 to help North Korean defectors adjust to life in the South as productive members of society and to foster a sense of unity between North and South Koreans.

The center has provided free one-month job training programs to a total of 250 applicants in the past five years, achieving an average employment rate of 50%.

Chairman Kim commented at the ceremony, “Korea Eximbank has consistently championed the welfare of relocating North Koreans, for example by funding the purchase of facilities for social enterprises employing North Korean this May. I hope this small donation will plant a seed of hope in the hearts of every new member of society striving for a better life in South Korea.”