Kaesong Industrial Complex business owners visit Washington to argue for complex’s reopening

Posted on : 2019-06-13 16:06 KST Modified on : 2019-06-13 16:06 KST
Presentation made to US House’s Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation
US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asia
US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asia

On June 11, Kaesong Industrial Complex business owners visited Washington, DC, to hold a briefing for the US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation. The business owners are trying to appeal directly to US policymakers and the general public to reopen the Kaesong Complex, which was shut down in February 2016, following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test.

“The Kaesong Industrial Complex is a model of inter-Korean economic cooperation that combines capital and technology from South Korea with outstanding workers from North Korea, and it is a zone of peaceful coexistence,” said Kim Ki-mun, chair of the Korea Federation of SMEs, during the briefing, while calling on the US Congress to support the complex’s reopening.

“While there are concerns that waiving sanctions to enable the reopening of the Kaesong Complex would be a violation of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, efforts to create peace on the Korean Peninsula and to facilitate distribution in a market economy meet the requirements for waiving sanctions and thus do not violate sanctions according to that act,” Kim said.

Subcommittee chair says denuclearization a prerequisite for reopening complex

Brad Sherman (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee, said that the basic requirement for waiving sanctions on North Korea is progress toward complete and irreversible denuclearization. Sherman added that progress will need to be made toward North Korea’s denuclearization before the Kaesong Complex can be reopened.

Sherman also said that moderated denuclearization could be feasible, but that North Korea will need to be more proactive about denuclearization if it wants to achieve economic development through reopening the Kaesong Complex.

In addition, Sherman cited concerns that a substantial portion of the wages paid to North Korean workers had been diverted to the North Korean government. Kim Jin-hyang, chairman of the Kaesong Industrial District Foundation, responded by saying that “the Kaesong Complex is not a cash cow for North Korea” and that no evidence has been found that the workers’ wages were being siphoned off by the North Korean authorities.

“A solution can definitely be reached through efforts by South Korea, North Korea, and the international community to create various institutions, including a system for paying wages directly,” Kim Ki-mun said.

Andy Kim (D-NJ) said that he hoped that continuing dialogue with North Korea would lead to improved results.

The briefing was attended by three members of Congress: Judy Chu (D-Calif.), along with Brad Sherman and Andy Kim.

Kim Ki-mun and Kim Jin-hyang were joined by Jeong Gi-seop, chair of the Corporate Association of Gaeseong (sic) Industrial Complex, on the eight-person contingent from South Korea.

“We were hoping to explain why the Kaesong Complex is necessary in order to relax America’s inflexible stance on reopening the Kaesong Complex. We got some results, though not as much as we’d hoped,” Kim Ki-mun said during a press conference with foreign correspondents that took place afterward.

Kim highlighted Sherman’s more flexible language about “moderated denuclearization.” He also reported that the lawmakers at the briefing had said they would take into consideration the likelihood that leaving the Kaesong Complex closed would increase North Korea’s economic dependence on China in the long run.

“We welcome companies from the US, Japan, and Europe entering the Kaesong Complex to prevent the complex from being opened and shut because of political issues,” Kim said.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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