By Yi Whan-woo
The ruling and opposition parties collided Friday over the government’s decision to shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC).
The ruling Saenuri Party criticized the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) and others for fueling a rift over the decision, claiming they are deliberately highlighting financial damage with regard to the GIC ahead of the general election scheduled for April. 13
The opposition parties accused the ruling party of “sucking up to” the Park Geun-hye administration by defending a decision that could increase inter-Korean military tension. They argued that the conservative government is stirring up security concerns to win the elections amid North Korea’s growing military aggression.
“Our government has solely focused on ensuring the national order and the people’s safety amid North Korea’s nuclear threats, while the opposition parties are just obsessed with criticizing the government,” said Saenuri Party floor leader Won Yoo-chul.
Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said, “The shutdown of the GIC was the only remaining option that Soul could take against Pyongyang and the opposition should not try to cause a domestic rift.”
The government was preparing to pull out 124 South Korean enterprises at the GIC in North Korea, Thursday, before the reclusive state abruptly expelled them and froze all South Korean assets there.
The Park administration suspects the GIC has been used to fund the Kim Jong-un regime’s U.N.-banned nuclear and ballistic missile program.
Kim Jong-in, the interim leader of the MPK, disagreed.
“Closing down the GIC will deal a blow to our economy but will leave little impact on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles. I believe the government had something else in its mind in its decision,” he said.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who leads the minor opposition People’s Party, said “The government’s measure is the infringement of property rights against 124 enterprises.”