S. Korean CEOs to boost morale in industrial complex in N. Korea

South Korean company heads who run factories with North Korean workers in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex will gather to boost their business morale, sources said.

The association of CEOs of South Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises in Gaeseong will hold a general meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at a training and education center in the complex.

It is the first time for the group to hold a regular meeting in North Korea since it was established under the Gaeseong Industrial Complex Act in July.

The meeting will assess business activities in Gaeseong, revise bylaws and appoint additional executives for the group operation.

About 200 officials including 123 SME heads and other officials at KT and the Korea Power Corp. are expected to attend the meeting.

Hong Yang-ho, former vice unification minister and chairman of the Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee, will deliver congratulatory remarks at the meeting.

The meeting schedule came after the South Korean government on Monday announced plans to repair and renew commuting roads for North Korean workers and to build a fire station at the Gaeseong complex.

According to data from the Unification Ministry, South Korean firms operated 123 factories employing 47,000 North Korean workers, with a South Korean staff of 800, as of the end of April.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)