Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Companies expect South-North summit to create opportunities
Officials of the Corporate Association of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex applaud at the association's office in Seoul, Friday, during the handshake between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjeom. / Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
South Korean businesses said Friday they have high hopes for the inter-Korean summit to lead to a resumption of economic cooperation with North Korea, which has been suspended ever since the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in February 2016.
Although the two Koreas excluded economic cooperation from the key summit agenda, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea expected the forthcoming meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump to produce good results, regarding Washington's positive comments on the summit as a signal for the possible alleviation of sanctions against North Korea.
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) supported the view, regarding the inter-Korean summit as “a guide to a successful North Korea-U.S. summit.”
Shin Han-yong, chairman of the Corporate Association of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, said the association members will apply to visit North Korea after the summit and before the Kim-Trump meeting. Their previous applications for visits have been rejected by both previous and incumbent administrations.
“After the summit, we will set up a taskforce to prepare for the resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex,” he told reporters Friday at the association's office in Seoul. “Although the two Koreas will not discuss economic cooperation this time, we expect they will talk about the issue in the next summits or high-level talks.”
The Korea Federation of SMEs (K-Biz) emphasized the nation's SMEs have played important roles in operations of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tours to Mount Geumgang. In its statement released after the Moon-Kim meeting, K-Biz said the SMEs will do their best for the early resumption of operations at the complex and for the employment of North Korean workers at South Korean companies.
Association of High Potential Enterprise of Korea Chairman Kang Ho-gap urged the two Koreas to establish stable and solid measures for economic ties, saying, “Economic cooperation will dispel worries of medium-sized companies over their difficulties in doing business in both domestic and global markets.”
Before the North Korean leader's visit to South Korea, some analysts said it was too early to prepare for economic cooperation, citing the United Nation's sanctions against Pyongyang and absence of a business delegation in the summit.
The only influential businessman accompanying Moon was Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Chairman Park Yong-maan, who joined a banquet to welcome Kim after the summit.
During the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, three executives from KITA, the Federation of Korean Industries and K-Biz visited Pyongyang with former President Kim Dae-jung to discuss investments in North Korea.
The second summit in 2007 was attended by chairmen of Hyundai Motor Group, LG, SK, Hyundai Group and POSCO, as well as a Samsung Electronics vice chairman.
South Korean business lobbies, however, are mulling over possible ways of supporting projects in North Korea.
The KCCI said its members will pioneer a new era of inter-Korean economic ties.
The business group is considering contacting the North Korean Chamber of Commerce again with the help of the International Chamber of Commerce, as it did under the previous Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.
Korea Employers Federation Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik also told reporters Thursday that the federation expects the inter-Korean summit to be a path to economic ties between the two Koreas.