Anchor: It was this day of last year when South Korea decided to shut down the Gaesong Industrial Complex, days after North Korea's fourth nuclear test. The issue of reopening the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex has now become a key topic ahead of the presidential election this year. Marking the first anniversary since the closure of the last inter-Korean cooperation project, our Bae Joo-yon wraps up the political divide over the issue among leading contenders.
 
Report: Leading presidential contenders are divided over whether to reverse the government's decision to close down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex a year ago. 
 
A spokesman for the former chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, Moon Jae-in, said that the industrial park should resume operations as soon as possible to minimize losses that South Korean firms have suffered from the shutdown.

Moon’s spokesman said that the resumption of operations would be advantageous for South Korea as the complex is situated in an extremely strategic location given it is a key passageway for southward invasion.
 
A spokesman for South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung said Ahn will aim to resume operations at the complex as he believes the Park Geun-hye government’s absurd decision to shut down the park led businesspeople and laborers to suffer hardships.
 
Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung also voiced support for the swift reopening of the Gaeseong complex so that the joint venture will contribute to solidifying inter-Korean economic cooperation and establishing peace on the peninsula.
 
Former co-chairman of the minor People’s Party, Ahn Cheol-soo, told reporters on Thursday that it is realistically difficult to restart operations at Gaeseong right away due to UN sanctions. While stressing that the issue must be comprehensively discussed with the North, he added that South Korea could even end up being sanctioned if it fails to follow UN resolutions.
 
Bareun Party lawmaker, Rep. Yoo Seong-min, also shared the view that resuming the complex’s operations at the current state would be difficult.
 
Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil said the political sector must make efforts to create an atmosphere conducive to reopening of the park. Nam also called on North Korean authorities to stop their confrontational attitudes and take on a forward-looking stance for the advancement of inter-Korean ties.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.