South Korean companies operating in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea will be obligated to pay taxes to North Korean authorities.
 
According to the Unification Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday, South Korean firms in the joint industrial complex will have to pay land-use fees starting from this year. 
 
The measure is in line with the industrial park’s real estate regulations that state the fee for using land will be charged starting from this year, or the eleventh year since the lease contract for the complex was clinched.  
 
A ministry official said that the North’s Central Guidance Bureau for Special Zone Development and the South’s Gaeseong Industrial District Management Committee will soon hold consultations on setting the fee.
 
An official of a South Korean company operating in the joint venture said the land-use fee is a tax that is to be paid to the North once a year. The official said all 123 South Korean companies in the Gaeseong park are paying keen attention to how much the final rental fee will be.