The beginning of 2016 was full of hope for Lee Byoung-chul, president of Sukji Solution, a children’s clothing company.

Lee, who would provide raw materials to the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) and deliver the finished products to bigger companies, was particularly heartened when China started allowing two children per household and an FTA between China and South Korea was signed.

Then came the Chinese New Year’s holiday, with the sudden closure of the KIC on February 10 and the deportationof South Koreans the next day, and Lee’s hopes, along with the contracts he had anticipated from Chinese companies, were