10 Years of Stagnation: Can South Korean Businesses Reopen Gaeseong Industrial Complex?

As access to the Kaesong Industrial Complex remains restricted, affected business leaders are urging for approval to visit North Korea.

On February 10th, marking the 10th anniversary of the Kaesong Industrial Complex’s complete shutdown, the Kaesong Industrial Complex Business Association held a press conference. The event took place in front of the Dorasan Inter-Korean Transit Office (CIQ) gate, the closest point to the complex on the South Korean side. There, they released a statement titled “We Want to Return to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.”

The press conference was attended by approximately 80 individuals, including Chairman Cho Kyung-joo and other business leaders and employees affiliated with the Kaesong Industrial Complex Business Association. Participants described their decade-long struggle for survival and recovery, highlighting that many companies had been forced to suspend or close their operations.

They called for cooperation from the South Korean government, North Korean authorities, and even the United States to facilitate visits to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Chairman Cho Kyung-joo stated, “Despite the longest period of severed communication lines and the worst inter-Korean relations in the 21st century, businesses from the Kaesong Industrial Complex haven’t lost hope.” He added, “Ten years after the closure, most of these businesses, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, now face existential threats, and the prospect of resuming operations remains distant.”

Cho urged the South Korean government to establish practical survival measures for the affected businesses. He also requested North Korean authorities to approve visits for the business leaders and called on the United States to play a constructive role in enabling these visits for asset assessments.

One business leader present at the conference shared, “The main reason we’ve managed to keep our businesses afloat over the past decade, despite the difficult circumstances, is our hope to return to the Kaesong Industrial Complex one day.” He added, “I still think of the North Korean workers we used to work with and miss them dearly. I earnestly appeal to North Korea to grant approval for our visit, as we’ve been waiting for this opportunity for ten years.”

This press conference occurred as Kim Jong Un redefined inter-Korean relations as “hostile states” rather than familial ties and reorganized his strategy toward South Korea.

Earlier that morning, the Ministry of Unification released a separate statement marking the 10-year anniversary of the Kaesong Industrial Complex shutdown. The Ministry avoided criticizing North Korea, instead shifting blame towards the administrations of former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in. They argued that Park’s administration closed the complex, while Moon’s missed opportunities to restart it.

The Ministry stated, “North and South Korea signed an agreement in August 2013 to ensure the normal operation of the complex regardless of political circumstances. Despite this agreement, which was made at our strong request, our unilateral suspension of operations in February 2016 was a self-destructive act that undermined mutual trust and the foundation for joint growth.”

They added, “In January 2019, Kim Jong Un directly expressed his willingness to resume operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex without any preconditions or costs. However, we failed to take any corresponding actions, which led us to miss a critical opportunity for its resumption.”

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