The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea last year ”increased” by 20% compared to the previous year

South Korea's Ministry of Unification announced on the 4th that "the number of North Korean defectors who entered South Korea last year was 236, a 20% increase from the previous year."
According to the Ministry of Unification, of these, 210 were women and 26 were men, with the proportion of women being overwhelmingly higher.
A total of 34,314 people were in the country, including 24,746 women and 9,568 men. Only a few of these people came directly from North Korea to South Korea, and most came to South Korea after residing in a third country.
Regarding the fact that there are more women than men, an official from the Ministry of Unification said, "North Korea is an organized society, so men are tightly bound by the organizations," and "The severity of the economic difficulties has led to more women being forced to resign."
While gang life was relaxed because sex black market activity was unavoidable, there were attempts to thoroughly control men within the gang."