By Yoon Ja-young
Employees of South Korean factories at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea were concerned by the sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. However, there were no unusual signs, they said.
“There aren’t any notable changes in the atmosphere there. Those working there are concentrating on doing their job,” said a representative for the Corporate Association of Gaesong Industrial Complex, the fraternity of business people operating there.
Uncertainties of the outcome of Kim dying remain but so far there are no options for them. “The government hasn’t taken any special measures, and we haven’t received any requests from the Ministry of Unification as yet. At this point there is not much to say,” she said.
Currently, there are 123 businesses operating at Gaeseong, according to the association. Garment and textile companies total 72, and there are 23 machinery and metal businesses and 13 electric and electronics companies. They found out about Kim’s passing through a news report.
A representative for another business at the complex, however, expressed anxiety, especially over the potential political unrest in North Korea.
Despite this the phone services connecting the complex were working well. “Our employees at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex reported there isn’t any notable difference,” said a representative for KT, the country’s largest communications company. It has been offering telephone services for businesses operating at the complex since December 2005.
“We have around 600 lines for phones and fax services. The coding sent to the complex slowed down a little bit, but calls did not increase explosively. It is the same as usual,” she added.
The shares of businesses operating at the complex, however, nosedived at the news of Kim’s death. Pan-Pacific Corp., a garment and textile company, saw its shares tumble by 8.06 percent, and Jahwa Electronics lost over 9 percent.
North Korea hasn’t contacted businesses operating in Gaeseong yet to request a temporary suspension of operations for workers to properly pay their condolences.
“We are very much surprised by the news of the death of the North Korean leader Kim, and are monitoring the political changes in the Korean Peninsula,” the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business announced.
“The government should set up active measures so that small- and medium-sized businesses at the complex, which are the symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation, can concentrate on production without being rattled,” it added.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the complex took place in June 2003 and the first 15 companies to operate there were chosen in June the following year. Telephone services started from December 2005, and the number of North Korean workers reached 10,000 as of November 2006.
It has been a key source of inter-Korean trade despite mounting tension between the two Koreas since the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak.
Total production surpassed the $1 billion mark in September last year and the trade volume between South and North Korea reached $825 million in the first half this year, up 19.5 percent from a year ago. Over 48,000 North Koreans and 770 South Koreans work within the complex.