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A view of the Kaesong Industrial Complex (Hankyoreh archives)
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S. Korean business owners demand N. Korea visit to inspect facilities
The resumption of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and tourism at Mt. Kumgang “without any precondition and in return for nothing” proposed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his New Year’s address was reportedly the focus of discussions at the Blue House National Security Council standing committee’s first meeting of 2019 on Jan. 3. Many are now watching to see whether the new year’s first South Korea-US working group conference call around the middle of next week will include full-scale discussions on the Kaesong Industrial Complex issue. A first focus of attention is on whether South Korean business owners who run factories in the complex will be visiting North Korea to inspect local facilities, as the complex’s tenant companies have been repeatedly demanding. “Once the conditions are met for approval of a North Korea visit according to legal procedures, the relevant ministries will hold discussions to decide whether to grant approval,” an administration official told reporters on Jan. 3. The day before, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun said, “We do not see it as being in violation of sanctions per se for Kaesong Complex tenant company owners to visit the North.” Originally, 150 business owners from Kaesong Complex tenant companies were scheduled to visit North Korea between late October and early November of last year to inspect factory facilities, which they had been unable to access since the complex’s sudden closure in 2016. But the planned visit ended up not happening as preliminary discussions with the US failed to pan out. Different interpretations of N. Korea’s proposal” Some are speculating the Kaesong issue could come up at the first South Korea-US working group meeting of 2019, which is scheduled to take place as a conference call around the middle of next week. Opinions could be exchanged on the matter of tenant company owners visiting the North. The Corporate Association of Kaesong Industrial Complex (CAKIC) urged the administration to quickly meet with their North Korean counterparts to sound out their exact intentions and begin discussions. “We can take the phrase ‘in return for nothing’ as also meaning the North could adopt special preferential measures for the operation of the Kaesong Complex,” said Kim Jin-hyang, chairman of the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation. “That’s something we’d have to meet [with North Korea] to hear about,” Kim added. Kim predicted North Korea may suggest an approach where workers are not paid in US dollars. CAKIC chairman Shin Han-yong said North Korea “appears to be freeing up all the assets it confiscated.” Another Kaesong Complex business owner said, “This comes across as North Korea sending the message that it won’t be pushing to resolve the issue of damages from the complex’s closure – i.e., the losses from not being able to operate – or pressing too hard for things like an increase in wages.” Businessmen said the Moon administration would need to work on convincing the US to resolve sanctions issues affecting the Kaesong Complex. Kim Gwang-gil, an attorney with the law firm Jipyong who has head the complex’s legal affairs team for the past ten years, said, “We can’t resume operations at the Kaesong Complex right now because of sanctions against North Korea, but I don’t think we can resolve the nuclear issue without sharing policies to guide North Korean toward openness.” “We need to play up this effect of the Kaesong Complex and push the US to adopt forward-thinking measures,” Kim suggested. By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
