Firms feel cautious optimism about Gaeseong park

The now closed inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex seen from the Dorasan Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times file

By Kim Ji-soo

As the selection of presidential candidates is coming down to the wire for the May 9 election, some entrepreneurs, such as Park Yong-man, are feeling cautious optimism.

"For me, our company's assets are there," said Park, president of Rok-Sec Garments, in an interview in his office, explaining why he hopes the former Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea will reopen.

His company was one of 123 firms that operated out of the industrial zone, which was abruptly shut down in February 2016 by former President Park Geun-hye, following the North's Jan. 6 nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Feb. 7.

His 35-year-long career in clothing manufacturing, specifically on an OEM and ODM basis, has helped Park survive the industrial park's unforeseen closure last year, he said.

"When I first started here in this neighborhood in Wangsimni, Seoul, it was hills and unpaved roads," Park said, recalling how he first got started. Now, he owns a building in the neighborhood, which he chose for its closeness to the textile center at Dongdaemun Market and its strategic location, and accessibility to all parts of Seoul and to his clients.

The decades of experience of running a small-and medium-sized business in Korea has given him the capacity to manage risks, including the abrupt closure of the inter-Korean industrial zone. "But I never really thought that they would do it so early," Park said.

Park is working on his next product — a foot massager.

President Park Yong-man of Rok-Sec Garments talks to The Korea Times in his office in Wangsimni, Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

"We have to keep moving forward to stay alive," Park said.

The 58-year-old passionately spoke about his new product and why it was important to stimulate the feet's micro-vessels, taking care to avoid side effects, in order to live healthily.

Park may well be one of the lucky few among the 123 entrepreneurs that had operated businesses in the industrial zone. He bristled at how the former Park administration neither properly notified nor compensated the firms. With a new administration coming in after the May 9 election, Park sees hope in the industrial park's reopening.

But was he not worried about the North Korean nuclear test or the new U.S. administration?

"Singular political leaders or governments sometimes can make decisions that can bring about a virtuous cycle of events," Park said.

The candidates for the upcoming presidential election in South Korea are all likely to be announced soon. The conservative Bareun Party has chosen Yoo Seong-min as its candidate. Ahn Cheol-soo is running strong in the People's Party primaries, while Moon Jae-in, the frontrunner of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, is expected to seize his party's ticket.

But various polls have shown that South Koreans are favoring Moon as their next possible president, amid the nationwide disappointment at former President Park, who was embroiled in an influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil that ultimately led to her impeachment and removal from office.

In February, Moon posted on his official Facebook page about the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, saying he wants to reopen and expand the park in order to encourage more South Korean firms to advance into the North Korean market.

Lee Joung-duk, president of Young Inner Foam, is another entrepreneur who had a factory at the inter-Korean industrial park. When he was interviewed soon after Gaeseong's closure in 2016, Lee seemed very much in shock.

About a year later, however, he was back on his feet, running a factory in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and opening one in Vietnam. During that time, he also participated in the candlelit rallies in downtown Seoul last year.

"Like the other participants, I felt anger as a citizen of the country at the ruling party and the administration, and felt indignation as a former businessman at Gaeseong," Lee said over the telephone.

Young Inner Foam, an underwear manufacturer, started operations at Gaeseong in 2007. At the time, Lee already had one factory in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and another in Cambodia. After the industrial zone's closure, he went to Vietnam. He somehow managed to survive on government insurance payments made to companies forced to pull out from Gaeseong.

Compensation to the firms varies. According to various reports, the emergency committee estimates the total damage suffered by all 123 firms was at 1.5 trillion won, but the government's estimate puts the damage at around 780 billion won. As of late January 2017, 501.3 billion won had been paid out by the government.

"I know most of the 123 firms are struggling. The big ones may be okay, and I am doing okay, but it's the small ones that have taken the brunt of the closure," Lee said.

Isn't Lee also worried about the North Korean nuclear issue or the strident stance of the Trump administration in the United States?

"We have to deal with North Korea from a broad perspective" Lee said.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said there are real obstacles to reopening the Gaeseong Industrial Park, most especially the United Nations Security Council's imposition of tougher sanctions on North Korea last year in an effort to curb foreign currency transactions with North Korea.

"But two important factors here may be the will of the incoming political leader and his or her ability to persuade our ally, the United States," Yang said.