South Korean security services’ decision to bar a North Korea-born truck driver from delivering construction materials to the presidential office has sparked a controversy over discrimination against defectors, with some arguing that it reflects harmful stereotypes about those who have resettled in the ROK.

The incident began after an interior company contracted truck driver Jang Guk-cheol, a defector who arrived in South Korea in 2017, to deliver floor tiles for renovation work at the Blue House, ahead of President Lee Jae-myung’s return to the former executive office and residence.