Qiantian has had the largest number of ROK enterprises in  Qingdao. Li said that in recent years, more of these enterprises  had withdrawn and the pace appeared to be picking up. Several  years ago, only one or two plants shut each year, but in less than three months this year, four had closed.    

"He owes me 1,000 yuan ($143.78)," Liu said as he surfed the web at an  Internet cafe near the plant. Liu and his 60-plus former colleagues don't know where to turn  to get most of the wages they're owed. After the boss fled, the  workers from the Modern Artware Plant got together to demand their back pay. Finally, after the local labor authority got involved,  the plant equipment was sold to pay off the debts. Liu got  one-third of his overdue pay. The owner of the factory lost 200,000 yuan in rent.    

According to the Korea Business Development Center in Qingdao  (KBDC), these "fleeing" enterprises mostly produced textiles,  leather goods and ceramics and other labor-intensive items.    

The manager of the KBDC in Qingdao, Lee Byong Jik, said from  2000 to 2007, there were 206 ROK enterprises that left Qingdao  through "abnormal procedures." The number is similar to that given by SDFTEC, which said that last year alone, investors at 80  enterprises from the ROK simply walked away.

Leaving littel but debt and bad image   

The fugitive factory managers mostly operated on the cheap,  officials in the region said.  

"These enterprises made few contributions to the development  of the local community, except hiring some local labor," said Li.  He noted that many of these ROK investors had just rented existing facilities that had near-obsolete equipment, meaning they put up little money of their own. When conditions worsened and the  managers fled, the assets they abandoned couldn't offset their  liabilities -- wages, loans and rent.    

SDFTEC said among the 206 fugitive enterprises, 30 percent had  produced ceramics and 15 percent and 13 percent had produced  textiles and leather goods, respectively. Many were small, with  investments of only $300,000 to $500,000, and 55 percent had fewer than 50 workers.    

But they left behind plenty of debt and ill will. These 206  enterprises were behind on bank loans of 700 million yuan. These  enterprises owed 160 million yuan of wages to about 26,000 workers, SDFTEC said.    

"It has really undermined Korean investors'image," said Cho Hak Rae, president of Qingdao Cuckoo Electronics Co Ltd, which is  still operating. "They should go through legal procedures, instead of fleeing."