North Korean authorities in North Hamgyong province have launched a crackdown on medical facilities issuing fraudulent medical certificates in exchange for bribes. The clampdown comes as officials grow increasingly concerned about people using these fake documents to travel to border regions for illegal activities, including receiving money from abroad.<\/p>\n
A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province reported recently that police arrested a Chongjin resident with family ties to a North Korean defector after catching them attempting to travel to the border city of Hyesan in Ryanggang province without proper documentation last month.<\/p>\n
During interrogation, the individual revealed they had used a fraudulent medical certificate to justify workplace absence, triggering a broader investigation into medical facilities issuing false documentation, according to the source.<\/p>\n
North Korean law requires travel permits for movement outside one’s registered area, with particularly strict controls on border region access to prevent defections.<\/p>\n
To circumvent these restrictions, many use personal connections or bribes to obtain fake medical certificates from healthcare facilities. These documents provide a legitimate-seeming excuse to miss work, allowing individuals to secretly travel to border areas after a waiting period.<\/p>\n
“People seek these fake certificates to get around state controls,” the source explained. “Often, it’s to contact relatives who have defected or receive money from them.”<\/p>\n
In response, the health bureau of North Hamgyong’s People’s Committee has strengthened penalties for medical facilities caught accepting bribes for false documentation. The bureau has emphasized “spiritual improvement” through medical ethics retraining and encouraging staff to report violations.<\/p>\n
“The doctor caught issuing the fake certificate in this case has been sentenced to forced labor,” the source said. “But both the doctor and the arrested person were just trying to survive. What choice did they have? If this doctor needs ‘spiritual improvement,’ then every doctor does.”<\/p>\n
“These certificates have become essential for what authorities call ‘non-socialist behavior,'” the source added. “People worry that as crackdowns intensify, the bribes they pay doctors will only increase, making survival even harder.”<\/p>\n
The source noted that some doctors have become more cautious, now screening requests for fake certificates by asking about travel destinations and purposes. Those who sense potential risks are declining to issue the documents.<\/p>\n