Plenary Session Passes the Act
Electricity Rate Reductions Not Included
The “Special Act on Strengthening the Competitiveness and Support of the Petrochemical Industry” (Petrochemical Special Act), which aims to support the restructuring of South Korea’s petrochemical industry, passed the National Assembly’s plenary session on December 2.
At the plenary session held that day, the National Assembly approved the Petrochemical Special Act with 235 votes in favor, 1 against, and 4 abstentions out of 240 members present.
This law establishes the legal basis for providing tax, financial, and employment support necessary for the restructuring and transition to high value-added businesses in the petrochemical industry. It also stipulates special exceptions to the Fair Trade Act, such as shortening the review period for business combinations, permitting joint actions in exceptional cases, and allowing the exchange of information for business restructuring. The law also specifies the grounds for supporting research and development (R&D) and workforce training. In addition, it enables administrative and financial support for employment in situations such as workforce reductions resulting from business restructuring.
This law was enacted to strengthen the competitiveness of the petrochemical industry, which is facing a structural crisis due to global oversupply.
However, the law does not include support for electricity rate reductions, which had been requested by the industry and other stakeholders.
The Korea Chemical Industry Council welcomed the final passage of the Petrochemical Special Act, stating that “an institutional foundation has been established to support structural restructuring.”
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