1st S.Korean Company Pulls Out of Kaesong

The first South Korean company decided Monday to withdraw from the Kaesong Industrial Complex amid constant uncertainty over the future of the inter-Korean project.

The apparel company, which mainly makes fur and leather clothes, decided to withdraw from Kaesong completely and filed an application to wind up the business on Monday, a government official said.

The company reportedly decided to call it quits when increasing number of buyers canceled orders and due to concerns for the safety of South Korean staff as a Hyundai Asan staffer remains locked up incommunicado on sedition charges.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex began full operation in 2005. While some companies had moved some of their facilities elsewhere or reduced their business in Kaesong, the company is the first to get out completely. Some 105 companies remain.

But more firms could follow suit if the North, in an inter-Korean meeting scheduled for Thursday, continues to make what are here seen as exorbitant demands for higher wages for North Korean employees, and higher rent.