The South Korean government, through the South Korean
Industrial Health Association, plans to launch an investigation based on claims
by North Korea in August that its workers at factories within the Kaesong
Industrial Complex [KIC] are suffering from health complications resulting from
exposure to toxic chemicals at the facilities.
An official from the South Korean Ministry of Unification
said on October 2nd, “We plan to launch an objective survey of all the
facilities to evaluate the safety of the work environment and based on this
provide systemic management measures.” The investigation will include 33
facilities within the complex and is scheduled to continue until November 30th.
“The existence of proper ventilation equipment and
that the safety of all workers is guaranteed will be assessed,” the
official stated. “If the results of the probe show that any enterprise is
operating under an inadequate working environment, we plan to provide
professional consulting to immediately improve the conditions.”
North Korea has continued to reject the proposal,
particularly requests by the South to conduct medical checkups for the affected
workers.
