The purpose of this study was to explore ways for self-employed North Korean defectors to successfully run their own businesses and self-employed businesses in Korean society by analyzing the factors that affect the business performance of self-employ...
The purpose of this study was to explore ways for self-employed North Korean defectors to successfully run their own businesses and self-employed businesses in Korean society by analyzing the factors that affect the business performance of self-employed North Korean defectors. North Korean defectors risked their lives to escape from the repression and painful living environment of North Korean society and escaped from the border and came to Korean land. As of June 2024, the number of North Korean defectors who left North Korean society and entered South Korea reached 34,183. Among them, the proportion of self-employed North Korean defectors accounted for 12.3% in 2018, but it is increasing annually from 16.4% in 2020 to 17.8% in 2023. As the interest in start-ups to realize the dreams of North Korean defectors to settle in South Korea increases and the proportion of self-employed people gradually increases, the necessity of research on the start-ups and self-employed of North Korean defectors is emphasized. Accordingly, when looking at the study on the characteristics of start-up as a degree of independence of North Korean defectors, there are some cases of previous studies that studied the effect of start-up characteristics on start-up willingness, but there are no previous studies including the management performance of self-employed North Korean defectors.
In order to achieve the purpose of this study, 200 copies of the questionnaire were collected for self-employed North Korean defectors using a questionnaire prepared based on previous studies.
The results of the hypothesis test through factor analysis and structural analysis conducted in this study are summarized as follows. First, as a result of factor analysis in this study, the latent variables are (1) self-efficacy, (2) risk-taking, (3) innovativeness, (4) social adaptability, (5) internal competency, (6) digital literacy, (7) financial performance, and (8) non-financial performance. Second, it was found that the founder's characteristics of self-employed North Korean defectors had an effect on the internal competency, digital literacy competency, financial performance, and non-financial performance of self-employed North Korean defectors. Third, it was confirmed that the internal competency of self-employed North Korean defectors has an effect on financial and non-financial performance. Fourth, it was confirmed that the digital literacy competency of self-employed North Korean defectors has an effect on financial performance. Fifth, the internal competency of self-employed North Korean defectors was found to have a mediating effect between the characteristics of the founder and financial performance.
The above research results are emphasized as an important factor for self-employed North Korean defectors to successfully settle in South Korean society. If the previous study focused only on the successful adaptation of South Korean society by self-employed North Korean defectors, this study found that it is very important not only to strengthen successful social adaptability but also to strengthen the internal and digital literacy capabilities of self-employed North Korean defectors. In addition, it was confirmed that in order to improve the management performance of self-employed North Korean defectors, it is necessary to continuously secure the characteristics of self-employed entrepreneurs.
Accordingly, the government should establish and implement various support policies centered on strengthening the internal and digital literacy capabilities of self-employed North Korean defectors, and it is believed that self-employed North Korean defectors should also make various efforts to strengthen their internal and digital literacy capabilities.