Geoje City-Council Hold Citizens' Debate Opposing Daewoo Shipbuilding Sale

Geoje City, Gyeongnam Province, and the City Council held a citizen debate opposing the sale of Daewoo Shipbuilding.
[Image source=Geoje City]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Geoje City and the Geoje City Council in Gyeongnam announced on the 16th that they held a citizens' debate opposing the sale of Daewoo Shipbuilding.

This citizens' debate was organized to discuss and share opinions with citizens on the ongoing sale process of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the issues surrounding the conditional approval expected in the European Union's merger review, and the impact on the domestic shipbuilding industry and the regional economy.

Since the Industrial Bank announced the sale plan at the end of January 2019, Daewoo Shipbuilding has been undergoing a merger review, with the most important examinations by the EU and the domestic Fair Trade Commission still pending.

Currently, the EU has notified Hyundai Heavy Industries Group to propose measures to resolve the monopoly issue of LNG carriers resulting from the merger.

Mayor Byeon Gwang-yong emphasized withdrawing the ongoing sale process and reconsidering it from the beginning, stating, “The conditional approval limiting the market share of LNG carriers, which is currently being raised, rather weakens the competitiveness of the Korean shipbuilding industry, depresses the upstream and downstream industries related to Daewoo Shipbuilding, recreates employment and industrial crises, and threatens the regional economy.”

Chairman Ok Young-moon said, “Since the stability of Daewoo Shipbuilding is directly linked to the stability of the region, the opinions of workers and citizens, who are parties to the sale and merger review, must be sufficiently reflected,” and added, “We will respond jointly with citizens so that the regional economy does not become more unstable due to the sale issue.”