Yeongam-gun, Promotion of Support Project to Solve Labor Shortage in Shipbuilding Industry

Yeongam-gun Government Office

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Yeongam County announced on the 29th that it will promote the ‘Shipbuilding Industry Workforce Supply Support Project’ to solve the manpower shortage problem at shipbuilding sites.

According to Yeongam County, since the international oil price slump in 2015, the shipbuilding industry sites have experienced a large-scale workforce exodus, causing subcontractors to return orders due to a shortage of production workers.

To address this manpower shortage, the county plans to implement workforce supply support such as ▲New Employee Relocation Settlement Support Project ▲Employment Retention Subsidy Support Project ▲Retiree Hopeful Employment Incentive Support Project.

The ‘New Employee Relocation Settlement Support Project’ provides 250,000 KRW per month for 4 months to workers who relocate from other regions to Yeongam County and newly employed at local shipbuilding companies. The ‘Employment Retention Subsidy Support Project’ provides up to 210,000 KRW per worker per month for 4 months to workplaces receiving employment retention subsidies from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The ‘Retiree Hopeful Employment Incentive Support Project’ provides 250,000 KRW per month for 4 months to workers who retired during the shipbuilding industry downturn and relocate to Yeongam County for new employment.

Additionally, the county was selected for the ‘Regional Specialized Visa Pilot Project’ conducted by the Ministry of Justice to revitalize the local economy in population extinction risk areas, and plans to offer visa exemptions for 5 years and 2 years respectively to outstanding foreign nationals and ethnic Koreans employed and residing in the county.

A Yeongam County official stated, “Designated as a population extinction area last year, this is expected to help alleviate the manpower shortage in local workplaces struggling with domestic workforce supply,” and added, “We will continue to develop various support policies to ensure timely workforce supply and revitalize the shipbuilding industry.”