The average amount of financial compensation given to North Korean defectors by the South Korean government in exchange for classified information and equipment has more than quadrupled since last year, data provided by the Ministry of Unification (MOU) showed on Tuesday.

The North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act stipulates that the unification minister can grant North Korean defectors “due compensation for information or equipment” depending on the practical value of the intelligence provided.

The average total amount given for secret information was KRW 79.6 million (USD$69,947) between October 2017 to September this year, lawmaker Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party said, citing materials provided by the unification ministry.

In contrast, the same period between October 2016 and September 2017 saw defectors with high-value information receive an average payment of KRW 17.4 million (USD$15,289).

The past year, however, saw the total number of defector beneficiaries fall from 44 to 9.

Statistics showed that 66.7 percent of recipients in the past year were granted more than KRW50 million (USD$43,936) in exchange for secret information, compared to only 9.1 percent between September 2016 – October 2017.

The unification ministry cited increased defections by traders, diplomats, and senior military officials, as well as others with “high-value information,” as the reason for the larger amount of compensation, the lawmaker explained in a written statement.

Seoul revised the Enforcement Decree of the North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act in May 2017 with the aim of increasing the scope of compensation – a change the unification ministry also said helped account for the increased payouts.

Article 40 of that law, on “Standards for Paying Due Compensation,” states Seoul can pay up to KRW500 million (USD$439,367) in exchange for “information valuable for national security”: double what was previously offered.

The maximum reward for warships and fighter-bombers also increased from KRW150 million (USD$131,810) to KRW500 million (USD$440,517).

2017’s amendments, therefore, allow the unification minister to pay compensation not exceeding KRW1 billion (USD$878,734) if they consider “the level of contribution made by relevant information or equipment to national security and the formulation and determination of unification policies.”

Last year’s changes were the first of their kind since 1997.

In response to speculation that they represented an attempt to encourage the defection of high-level North Korean officials, the unification ministry at the time said Seoul had pushed ahead with the increase taking into account inflation and other circumstances.

Despite the changes, however, the total number of defectors arriving in the South fell by 17.7% during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, according to the statistics provided by the MOU in July.

If the trend continues through to December, this year could become the first time since before 2001 where fewer than 1000 defectors enter the South in one calendar year – just one-third of the peak recorded number of 2914 in 2009.

Edited by Oliver Hotham