Seoul fails to win sympathy for need to resume inter-Korean factory park

Chairman Jeong Gi-seop of the Corporate Association of Gaeseong Industrial Complex delivers opening remarks and shares the results of the association’s recent trip to the United States, at a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

A delegation of businesspeople who invested in a now-suspended inter-Korean factory park has failed to win a general consensus for the need to resume its operation during a recent trip to the United States.

The delegation mainly from the Corporate Association of Gaeseong Industrial Complex took a week-long trip from June 10 to Washington and Los Angeles, in a bid to raise awareness of the inter-Korean business complex and call for U.S.' support for its resumption.

They met with officials from the U.S. House of Representatives, Department of State and a series of local think tanks there.

“Once U.S. companies join the factory park, North Korea will believe this is a signal for an end to the threat of war against the U.S.,” Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation chairman Kim Jin-hyang told reporters at a press conference, Tuesday.

“North Korea is interested in U.S. firms advancing their business in the inter-Korean business complex,” he said.

But the message has de facto failed to draw attention from the U.S. authorities and experts, as there is still much to be done before the hopes turns into a reality.

“Most U.S. officials know little about the Gaeseong complex, so we focused on introducing what it is and its role as a 'peace-maker' to drive the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” an official from the Gaeseong corporate association said.

Last month, the South's Ministry of Unification allowed the businesspeople to visit the North's border city of Gaeseong for maintenance of their facilities there.

One hundred and twenty-three South Korean firms were forced to stop operating their businesses there in February 2016 amid worsening inter-Korean relations. The businesspeople have since established an emergency committee and urged the government to grant approval for them to visit the complex for maintenance of the invested equipment.

Jeong Gi-seop, chairman of the association, urged the South Korean government to play a more active diplomatic role to prevent the businesspeople from being further affected by the political uncertainty here.

“The U.S. authorities are not our counterparts for negotiations,” he said. “The South Korean government should stand at the forefront to resolve the issue by closely negotiating details with the U.S. authorities, as the resumption of the complex has to do with the United Nations sanctions on North Korea.”

“As far as we know, the U.N. sanctions on the North can be partially lifted when a North Korea-related project is aimed at peace.”

The association hopes for the unification ministry to stand at the center of resolving the affair and continue to meet with officials from the U.S. authorities.

“The South's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also handling the Gaeseong Industrial Complex issue, but we doubt what the ministry can actually do,” Jeong said.

Most U.S. officials were unaware of even the location and scale of the complex, according to him.

“The foreign ministry is seeking to engage in discussing the issue with the U.S., but their efforts do not look to be active enough.”

It is not proper for the ministry to further engage in the issue simply because it is handling a wide range of international issues, as the foreign authority is not involved in affairs on the inter-Korean business complex.

Despite their desperate call for a peaceful settlement of the issue, chances of them resuming business look slim at the moment.

Even if the unification ministry allowed their visit to the complex, Pyongyang has yet to grant approval for the plan.

The U.N. also remains firm in keeping the heavy economic sanctions on the North on track, blocking moves to provide any capital for the factory park.