Yeosu to retain employment crisis status through August next year amid petrochemical restructuring

Yeosu, designated a preemptive employment crisis response zone due to a slump in the petrochemical industry, will retain that status through August next year. The designation was extended by one year last August after employment conditions showed no clear signs of recovery. Concerns are also growing over the impact on jobs for primary and subcontracted workers and on the local economy, as petrochemical companies accelerate their business restructuring.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Wednesday, Yeosu's designation as a preemptive employment crisis response zone runs through Aug. 27 next year. The city was first designated last August due to the downturn in the petrochemical sector, and the period was extended again this August.

In July, approval of "Yeosu Project No. 1" brought the potential effects of business restructuring on workers' employment and subcontractors' operations to the fore as a key policy concern.

Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Kwon Chang-jun visited the Yeosu National Industrial Complex on Wednesday, meeting separately with local business leaders, workers and small merchants to hear about conditions on the ground and review the government's response.

Kwon listened to industry trends and concerns from representatives of petrochemical companies — including Yeocheon NCC, Lotte Chemical and LG Chem — as well as plant construction firms and subcontractors. He then visited Lotte Chemical's Yeosu Plant No. 1 to inspect facility operations.

Kwon noted that the petrochemical industry is struggling under a combination of oversupply and instability in the Middle East, stressing that "while business restructuring is an unavoidable process for restoring competitiveness, careful attention must be paid to ensure that the burden does not fall first on workers and subcontractors." He urged companies to make job retention their top priority and to pursue restructuring in a way that shares the burden between primary contractors and subcontractors.

At an employment forum held at the South Jeolla Province-Yeosu Industry-Academia Convergence Institute, labor groups and small merchants discussed employment conditions they are experiencing firsthand and the difficulties facing local commercial districts.

The forum was attended by labor organizations including the Yeosu chapters of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), as well as the Plant Construction Workers' Union, the Chemical Fiber and Food Workers' Union, and the Cargo Solidarity union. Representatives from small merchant associations — including the Yeosu Small Business Federation, merchants' associations and the lodging industry association — along with officials from the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city and Yeosu city also took part, sharing views on government support.

Kwon emphasized the importance of dialogue and trust between labor and management, and cooperation among local labor, management, civic and government bodies, calling on local governments to actively develop employment measures suited to regional conditions. "The government will not stop at current levels of support," he said. "We will carefully review every voice heard in the field today and provide whatever assistance is needed."