ID :
53934
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 14:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/53934
The shortlink copeid
Hyundai Asan facing worst challenge since starting N. Korean biz in 1998
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- The launching of North Korea's rocket is causing
Hyundai Asan Corp. to confront its worst challenge since starting its business
operations in the communist country in 1998, company sources said Sunday.
The affiliate of South Korea's Hyundai Group, which manages tours to Mount
Kumgang, and jointly operates the Kaesong Industrial Complex, said the launching
of the long-range rocket could dampen efforts to revive inter-Korean economic
cooperation that have been affected by string of events in recent months.
Insiders said that the launch -- that immediately triggered international
condemnation -- could bring about sanctions, causing recent efforts to reorganize
trips to Mount Kumgang to stall indefinitely and posing complications for other
inter-Korean business deals.
"We have already signed up more than 30,000 people to visit the mountain resort
this month," a company spokesperson said, hinting that there is interest among
the general public in trips to North Korea despite mounting tensions across the
demilitarized zone that separates the two countries.
He, however, said resumption of the tours is now uncertain with Pyongyang likely
to be censured by the international community.
"All we can do is watch developments and hope that the situation does not get
worse," he said.
All trips to the scenic mountain resort on the east coast were put on hold after
a South Korean female tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier in July 2008.
Complicating Hyundai's operations in the North, Pyongyang temporarily halted all
movements of people and material to the Kaesong complex last month, and detained
an employee for allegedly making anti-North Korean remarks.
Expert have been forecasting that deteriorating relations may jeopardize
operations at Kaesong, which has attracted South Korean business investment since
2003. There are currently around 100 companies in Kaesong that hire 39,000 North
Korean workers.
The park and Mount Kumkang tours have been heralded as the crowning achievement
of inter-Korean rapprochement launched by former President Kim Dae-jung in the
last decade.
The company said that since tours to Mount Kumgang were halted last year it
reported sales losses exceeding 100 billion won. It cut its workforce from over
1,000 to 470 in an effort to reduce costs, and has slashed the wages of its
remaining staff by over 30 percent.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
Hyundai Asan Corp. to confront its worst challenge since starting its business
operations in the communist country in 1998, company sources said Sunday.
The affiliate of South Korea's Hyundai Group, which manages tours to Mount
Kumgang, and jointly operates the Kaesong Industrial Complex, said the launching
of the long-range rocket could dampen efforts to revive inter-Korean economic
cooperation that have been affected by string of events in recent months.
Insiders said that the launch -- that immediately triggered international
condemnation -- could bring about sanctions, causing recent efforts to reorganize
trips to Mount Kumgang to stall indefinitely and posing complications for other
inter-Korean business deals.
"We have already signed up more than 30,000 people to visit the mountain resort
this month," a company spokesperson said, hinting that there is interest among
the general public in trips to North Korea despite mounting tensions across the
demilitarized zone that separates the two countries.
He, however, said resumption of the tours is now uncertain with Pyongyang likely
to be censured by the international community.
"All we can do is watch developments and hope that the situation does not get
worse," he said.
All trips to the scenic mountain resort on the east coast were put on hold after
a South Korean female tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier in July 2008.
Complicating Hyundai's operations in the North, Pyongyang temporarily halted all
movements of people and material to the Kaesong complex last month, and detained
an employee for allegedly making anti-North Korean remarks.
Expert have been forecasting that deteriorating relations may jeopardize
operations at Kaesong, which has attracted South Korean business investment since
2003. There are currently around 100 companies in Kaesong that hire 39,000 North
Korean workers.
The park and Mount Kumkang tours have been heralded as the crowning achievement
of inter-Korean rapprochement launched by former President Kim Dae-jung in the
last decade.
The company said that since tours to Mount Kumgang were halted last year it
reported sales losses exceeding 100 billion won. It cut its workforce from over
1,000 to 470 in an effort to reduce costs, and has slashed the wages of its
remaining staff by over 30 percent.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
