(ROUNDUP) Freed from North Korea, S. Korean worker returns home

(ATTN: UPDATES with Yu's remark, expert's view on impact on inter-Korean relations)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean worker returned home Thursday after
more than four months of detention in North Korea, as Pyongyang presented a rare
fence-mending gesture amid damaged inter-Korean relations.

Yu Seong-jin, an employee of Hyundai Asan Corp., the North Korea business unit of
the Hyundai Group, had been detained incommunicado since late March on
accusations of criticizing the North's political system. His release came as the
chairwoman of the conglomerate, Hyun Jung-eun, was in Pyongyang for the fourth
day.
"I'm happy to be back safely," Yu told reporters and a welcoming crowd who packed
the Inter-Korean Transit Office, a gateway from North Korea, in the South Korean
border town of Paju.
"I deeply thank the intelligence authorities, Hyundai Asan and all of you who
made a lot of efforts for me," he said, before being led away by guards.
The 44-year-old technician, sporting a baseball cap and casual clothing, remained
calm and looked healthy after 137 days of detention. He received a medical
checkup and "doesn't seem to have any particular health problem," Unification
Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a briefing.
In a conciliatory gesture, North Korea invited the Hyundai chairwoman on Monday,
just days after former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang to win the
release of two detained American journalists. Hyun, who was initially scheduled
to return on Wednesday, has extended her trip until Friday, apparently seeking a
meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It was not still clear whether the
meeting will take place before her scheduled return.
Before handing him over to Hyundai, a North Korean official read aloud the
results of the investigation into Yu, the ministry spokesman said. Yu, who worked
at a joint industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong, was accused of
"slandering" the North's political system and trying to persuade a local woman to
defect to South Korea. North Korea released him in a form of "deportation," the
spokesman said, suggesting the investigation found him guilty.
No ransom was paid for his freedom, the spokesman said.
The two Koreas held three rounds of negotiations after his detention, but there
was no progress, as North Korea refused to discuss Yu's case. Instead, Pyongyang
demanded hefty hikes in wages and land fees from South Korean firms operating at
the joint park. Seoul rejected the demand.
In his rural eastern hometown, Yu's aged, ailing parents were not yet fully
relieved, as they had yet to see their son. His company did not inform them of
the son's detention long after it occurred, worrying it would shock them and harm
their frail health.
"We want to see our son," his 75-year-old father said. "Thank you everyone who
worked so hard to help him return safely."
South Korea's presidential office welcomed Yu's release, but with a reserved
tone. It said Seoul's policy on Pyongyang will remain unchanged, amid speculation
President Lee Myung-bak may reciprocate with a reconciliatory offer to North
Korea on Liberation Day, which will be celebrated Saturday.
"It's late, but it's a good thing," Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for President Lee
Myung-bak, told reporters. "The government will continue to maintain its policy
consistency toward North Korea."
South Korea is still concerned about four fishermen detained north of the border.
Their squid fishing boat, the Yeonan 800, was hauled into a North Korean port for
an investigation on July 30. In the latest inter-Korean maritime contact on
Thursday, North Korea repeated that "an investigation was underway," the ministry
spokesman said.
The release of Yu removed a major roadblock in the inter-Korean relations,
experts say. Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea studies professor at Dongguk University,
said North Korea repatriated him as part of its efforts to improve relations with
the United States. It also needs South Korean support in face of U.N. financial
sanctions over its nuclear and missile tests, he said.
"It cannot improve its U.S. relations as long as the inter-Korean relations are
in a limbo. South Korea then will complain to the U.S., and it will then put a
break on its progress with North Korea," Koh said.
Hyundai invested US$1.2 billion won to open joint tourism and industrial ventures
in North Korea, but most of them have been suspended or scaled down as political
relations unraveled last year.
The Kaesong Industrial Council, which represents South Korean businesses
investing in Kaesong, hoped Yu's return will boost business sentiment at the
troubled park. Yu's case has sparked security concerns at the venture, prompting
some firms to consider withdrawing.
"We hope this incident will help thaw the frozen inter-Korean relations and boost
the Kaesong industrial park," the council said in a statement.
The joint park combining South Korean capital and technology with North Korean
labor was developed by Hyundai Asan and opened in late 2004. The venture now
hosts more than 100 South Korean small firms employing about 40,000 North
Koreans, producing clothing, kitchenware, electronic equipment and other
labor-intensive goods.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)