A/HRC/43/58 improved access to food or less arduous labour assignments, have been reported. Women who attempt to exercise their right to leave the country are vulnerable to arrest and detention, and are thereby at risk of further human rights violations. During interrogation, the use of beatings and other forms of torture to extract confessions appears to be standard practice. The ability of the accused to pay bribes can influence the outcome of the investigation, including the determination of whether a detainee is released.52 There is no judicial oversight or respect of suspects’ right to a fair trial throughout the process, in violation of the State’s international obligations, including under articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. G. Resettlement in the Republic of Korea 39. As at December 2019, a total of 33,523 escapees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had entered the Republic of Korea since recording began in 1998.53 In 2019, a total of 1,047 escapees arrived in the Republic of Korea, which constitutes a small decrease on previous years.54 More than 70 per cent of escapees arriving in the Republic of Korea were women, and nearly 80 per cent were aged between 20 and 49 at the time of their arrival. The Government of the Republic of Korea provides escapees with support services and benefits55 in the areas of protection, education, employment, accommodation, medical care56 and other basic needs.57 40. In spite of such support, many escapees struggle with integration into society in the Republic of Korea. According to research, the employment rate of woman escapees increased from 50.6 per cent in 2015 to 56.6 per cent in 2018.58 However, a survey of 431 escapees conducted by a civil society organization indicated that many escapees were employed as temporary or dayworkers, and as a result did not have job security.59 A total of 23.8 per cent of the escapees reportedly survived on government subsidies in 2019 – a figure that is seven times higher than the overall national figure.60 In addition, the majority of escapees stated that they sent money to relatives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.61 It was therefore often difficult for escapees to save up for their retirement. In July 2019, a female escapee and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Seoul. They had 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 14 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “The price is rights: The violation of the right to an adequate standard of living in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, 2019, pp. 25–26 and pp. 34–39. See www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/relations/statistics/defectors/. In 2018, a total of 1,137 escapees arrived. In 2017, a total of 1,127 escapees arrived. See www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/relations/statistics/defectors/. See https://northkoreanrefugee.org/eng/services_benefit/others.jsp. Escapees receive between 8 million and 39 million won as a settlement benefit, as well as between 16 million and 23 million won as a housing subsidy upon leaving resettlement centres. They are integrated into the security and medical care systems of the Republic of Korea. School tuition fees are waved until high school and at national and public universities, and a 50 per cent tuition grant is provided when escapees enter private universities. They are also provided with allowances and job training expenses while receiving vocational training. In an effort to facilitate their employment, the Government supports half of the wages of escapees for a maximum of four years. Medical services are free for the first five years after arrival and 90 per cent of medical costs are covered after that. See Hyunmin Ahn and Sungnam Kim, “Social and Economic Integration of North Korean Defectors in South Korea” (available in Korean), 2019, Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights, p. 58. North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act of the Republic of Korea, 2019, see www.law.go.kr/LSW//lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=206648&chrClsCd=010203&urlMode=engLsInfoR&viewC ls=engLsInfoR#0000. Korea Hana Foundation, Settlement Survey of North Korean Refugees in South Korea, 2018, p.136. Hyunmin Ahn and Sungnam Kim, “Social and Economic Integration of North Korean Defectors in South Korea” (available in Korean), 2019, Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights, p. 102. Overall, the rate of persons surviving on government subsidies in the Republic of Korea is 3.4 per cent. According to personal accounts, escapees use multiple brokers to send money to their relatives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.