Park Geun-hye unilaterally ordered shutdown of inter-Korean industrial complex: panel report

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye unilaterally ordered the shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial complex last year without any discussion among ministries and deliberation in the cabinet meeting, a panel report showed Thursday.

The policy reform committee for the unification ministry, composed of nine civilian experts, announced a report on its review over the Park government's policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Park was impeached earlier this year and taken into custody over corruption charges involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil. Suspicions were raised that Choi pulled the strings over government affairs, including the DPRK policy, from the shadows.

The Park government abruptly closed down the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the last remaining symbol of the inter-Korean economic cooperation, in February last year in response to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in the previous month.

According to the panel report, Park unilaterally gave her verbal order to shut down the inter-Korean factory zone in the border town of Kaesong without deliberation in the cabinet meeting, which is required by the country's Constitution.

Before the shutdown, there was no discussion among ministries over the affair, which seriously influences the inter-Korean relations, the panel said.

Though the unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs advised Park at the time to cautiously decide on the shutdown as an abrupt closedown can cause serious damage, Park's Blue House said there would be no change in the president's decision.

The Park government claimed that wages for DPRK workers in the Kaesong factory park had been used to develop DPRK's nuclear program, but the unification ministry had a different view from the claim.

The unification ministry said in a statement Thursday that it accepted the report of the policy reform committee in a humble manner, vowing to make efforts to increase the public's trust on its work and DPRK policy through innovation based on examination and reflection. Enditem