City-Steel Industry, Requests for Government and National Assembly Support Including Special Industrial Crisis Response Zones
Mayor Lee Gang-deok, "We Will Actively Work to Revitalize the Steel Industry"
The steel industry, the main industry in the Pohang region, is facing difficulties due to global oversupply and low-cost competition from China, while Pohang City is swiftly responding by devising various measures to overcome the crisis.
On the 4th, Lee Kang-deok, mayor of Pohang, visited Hyundai Steel's Plant 1 and toured the site. Provided by Pohang City
Recently, the Pohang steel industry and the region's key industries have been significantly shaken by the ongoing global steel oversupply, China's low-price offensive, and the domestic real estate market slump.
Posco and Hyundai Steel, unable to withstand the worsening conditions caused by internal and external factors, decided last month to shut down Hyundai Steel's Pohang Plant 2 and Posco's first wire rod plant.
In response, Pohang City is holding emergency countermeasure meetings to minimize damage to the local economy and is making every effort to overcome the crisis by communicating with the National Assembly and other bodies.
On the 20th of last month, the city held an emergency countermeasure meeting with related agencies responding to the regional industrial crisis to share various opinions and agreed that related organizations would actively cooperate to find solutions to the steel companies' crisis.
On the 21st, Mayor Lee Kang-deok personally visited the National Assembly to explain the situation of the local steel industry and proposed special government and parliamentary support measures, including designation as a ‘Special Industrial Crisis Response Area,’ extension of the ‘Special Support Area for Small and Medium Enterprises,’ government subsidies for SMEs, mandatory domestic procurement for companies, reduction of industrial electricity rates, and expedited handling of anti-dumping petitions against Chinese steel plates.
Additionally, on the 29th of last month, Pohang City held a meeting with financial institutions to discuss support for small business owners struggling due to the industrial and economic crisis and ways to revitalize the local economy. At the same time, a meeting with labor union executives was held to share related opinions and actively respond to overcoming the industrial crisis.
On the 4th, Mayor Lee Kang-deok visited Dongkuk Steel’s H-beam factory and Hyundai Steel’s Plant 1 to encourage company executives and workers, tour the sites, and listen to the difficulties faced by company officials and the steel industry.
On the 5th, he proposed to the Korea Housing Builders Association and the Korea Specialty Contractors Association the preferential use of domestically produced steel in response to the steel crisis. The associations responded by pledging to cooperate with their member companies to support domestic steel companies facing the crisis.
Furthermore, the city is working hard to establish support measures, including forming an industrial crisis response task force to discover local industry support policies, preferential support for SMEs’ secondary loan interest subsidies targeting steel companies, and increasing budget allocations.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “The Pohang steel industry is facing great difficulties due to global oversupply and China’s low-price offensive. Pohang City will actively work together to help the steel industry, which is the foundation of Pohang, overcome this trial and take another leap forward.”
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