In a speech, President Park Geun-Hye said she was aware of the "gruesome realities" North Koreans face daily.
"We will keep the road open for you to find hope and live a new life," she said. "Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South."
Her comments come after a North Korean soldier crossed the heavily-protected Demilitarized Zone to the South.
"The universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and welfare are the precious rights you should also enjoy," she said in a speech to mark the country's armed forces day.
