A residence registration guidance official in Ryanggang province is under investigation by provincial police for allegedly erasing information about defectors from official records.
According to a Daily NK source in Ryanggang province, the official, who works in residence registration at Pungso county’s police office, was transferred to provincial police custody on April 7.
In 2017, the official accepted $2,000 from a family to remove information from their residence registration documents that indicated one of their family members had defected. In North Korean rural communities, $2,000 represents an enormous sum, which the official pocketed after altering the official records. However, this act of corruption was discovered eight years later, leading to his arrest.
The family in question had pooled money with close relatives to bribe the official, fearing they would face career limitations and social discrimination for having a defector in their family.
With the defector’s record erased, family members and close relatives subsequently received job promotions and even secured positions in law enforcement without facing any social restrictions.
The situation unraveled during a background check on one of the family’s relatives when authorities received testimony that someone in the household had defected to South Korea.
During this investigation, officials discovered a discrepancy—a defector who wasn’t listed in the residence registration documents. When the county police office re-examined their records, they determined that the official had illegally removed information about the defector.
“In North Korea, a problematic family background prevents social advancement regardless of your abilities,” the source explained. “Particularly, having a defector in your family—even a third cousin—negatively impacts your status, which is why people pay substantial amounts to have defectors marked as deceased or to have their information erased from records. However, if discovered, both the official responsible and the entire family face punishment.”
Family members who participated in the bribery will likely lose their positions, while other relatives—including the one who triggered the background check—will face significant obstacles to future promotions due to their tainted background.
The official likely faces severe consequences, including expulsion from the party and dismissal from his position.
“This incident will ultimately have devastating consequences for everyone involved,” the source said. “People who have lived without issues will see everything they’ve built collapse, and they’ll be permanently labeled as individuals with political problems.”
