Last South Koreans leave the Kaesong complex

Posted on : 2013-05-04 12:32 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Joint industrial zone now completely empty for first time in its history; S. Korean government forced to pay N. Korea US$13 million
 including complex management committee chairman Hong Yang-ho (second from the left)
including complex management committee chairman Hong Yang-ho (second from the left)

By Kang Tae-ho, senior staff writer

The last seven South Koreans at the Kaesong Industrial Complex came home on May 3, completing the evacuation that was held up when North Korea prevented them from leaving on Apr. 29 because of unpaid bills and other administrative issues.

The seven, who included five complex management committee members and two KT employees, returned via the Inter-Korean Transit Office on May 3. Around the same time, five people, including committee deputy chairman Kim Ho-nyeon, arrived with two trucks loaded with money, paying off the March wages and taxes demanded by the North before returning home. The payment was made by the South Korean government, as getting money from tenant businesses was judged to be unlikely for the time being.

The seven South Koreans, who included committee chairman Hong Yang-ho, remained at the complex after the evacuation of 43 other workers on Apr. 29. For five days, they held discussions with Pak Chol-su, head of North Korea's Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau, on the payment of unpaid March wages, communications costs, and corporate taxes. North Korea asked for a total of US$13 million: US$7.3 million in March wages for its workers, US$4 million in 2012 corporate taxes, and US$1.7 million for communications, waste disposal, and other expenses. It also sought US$1.2 million in April wages, but put the matter off for future discussion after the South Korean side refused to agree to it.

The South Koreans made their own request to be allowed to take out tenant companies' raw materials and finished products from the complex, but North Korea refused.

Hong said talks over the complex's reopening would continue.

"We talked to the North about returning the complex to normal, and there are going to be discussions about it through various channels," he said.

Hong also said there would be "no major problem" with South Korean companies' assets at the complex.

"We put safeguards in places after hearing the opinions of the different companies," he explained.

The final evacuation comes seven days after the South Korean government's Apr. 26 decision to bring them home. It is also the first time the complex has been empty since it first went into operation in 2004. Its fate now appears to hinge on the overall political situation on the Korean Peninsula going ahead.

A senior Blue House official said, "We'll just have to sit tight and watch now. We've proposed talks between authorities, so we'll have to see how their side responds."

While Seoul maintains that its dialogue offer is still valid, putting the ball in Pyongyang's court, North Korea has been relatively restrained with its rhetoric compared to a month ago. It denounced the decision to pull the South Koreans out, but avoided any mention of shutting the complex down completely. Analysis said it appears to be taking a "cooling-off period" to figure the situation out calmly.

News of the final evacuation came late on May 3. As late as 2 pm, the Ministry of Unification said no decision had been made on the South Koreans’ return, leading some to speculate that the administrative talks might draw out. The announcement that the administrative issues were settled came abruptly just an hour or so later, suggesting the government gave up on its demands for the return of finished products.

Analysts suggested that the Blue House decided to avoid any unnecessary worries about "hostage-taking" that might surface if the discussions continued into the long term.

 return from the Kaesong Industrial Complex through Inter-Korean Transit Office
return from the Kaesong Industrial Complex through Inter-Korean Transit Office

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