The South Korean government said Monday that it is providing one-to-one support services for more than 100 firms troubled by last week's abrupt shutdown of a joint factory park in North Korea to help minimize their losses.
The support measures were drawn up by a special task force team headed by Lee Suk-joon, the top official in charge of government policy coordination at the Prime Minister's Office. The team also includes vice ministers of the finance, trade and interior, and officials from relevant government agencies.
"The team operates a one-to-one support channel for each firm on a regular basis to swiftly understand their difficulties," Lee said during the team's Monday meeting.
Pyongyang expelled all 123 South Korean firms from the joint industrial park in Gaesong on Thursday, one days after Seoul announced its own decision to at least temporarily shut down the industrial complex in response to the North's recent nuclear test followed by the launch of a satellite that many believe was a disguise for a long-range missile test.
Lee said the team visited all 123 firms between Friday and Sunday to determine their needs and difficulties.
When the industrial park was closed for 160 days in 2013 in North Korea's protest against a joint military exercise between South Korean and U.S. forces here, the South Korean firms reported a combined loss of 1.05 trillion won.
The firms claim their damage will be greater this time considering the growth of their business operations over the years, saying that they may even seek a lawsuit if the government refuses to compensate them for their losses. (Yonhap)