Gyeongnam Province Strives to Extend Employment Crisis Area Designation for Jinhae, Tongyeong, Geoje, and Goseong

On-site Inspection by Public-Private Joint Investigation Team Led by Ministry of Employment and Labor Held at Korea Industrial Complex Space Gyeongnam Headquarters

On the 23rd, an on-site inspection by the public-private joint investigation team for employment crisis areas, organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, is being conducted at the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation Gyeongnam Headquarters.
[Image source=Gyeongsangnam-do]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gyeongsangnam-do is making every effort to extend the designation period of four employment crisis areas in the province: Jinhae-gu in Changwon City, Tongyeong City, Geoje City, and Goseong County.

On the 23rd, the province explained the local industrial and employment conditions and the necessity of extending the designation period of the employment crisis areas during an on-site inspection by the public-private joint investigation team on employment crisis areas, hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, held at the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation Gyeongnam Headquarters.

The on-site inspection was attended by employment and labor market policy officers from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, heads of regional industrial employment policy divisions, officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Export-Import Bank, Korea Employment Information Service, as well as industrial and employment experts, and representatives from local governments including Gyeongnam Province, Changwon, Tongyeong, Geoje, Goseong, and Ulsan.

The on-site inspection proceeded with the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Plant Association explaining the necessity of extending the special employment support industry designation for shipbuilding, followed by each local government explaining the need to extend the employment crisis area designation, and then discussing the regional economic situation and the validity of the extension.

Kim Hee-yong, Director of the Job Economy Bureau of the province, explained, "Although shipbuilding orders have recently shown signs of recovery, due to the time lag until production, the volume of orders this year is expected to have a trickle-down effect only after the second half of next year."

He added, "Continuous government support is necessary so that the shipbuilding industry can endure the final hurdle until the full recovery phase," and requested an additional one-year extension of the employment crisis area designation.

The four employment crisis areas in the province were first designated in 2018 and have been extended three times, with the current designation period set to expire at the end of December this year. Accordingly, the province proposed revising the "Notice on Designation Criteria for Employment Crisis Areas" to the Ministry of Employment and Labor in early September for re-extension. The Ministry accepted Gyeongsangnam-do's proposal and revised the notice at the end of October, opening the possibility for one additional extension.

The province submitted the extension application to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 29th of last month and is continuously advocating for the extension of the employment crisis area designation period to the government and political circles.

Based on the results of this public-private joint investigation team's on-site inspection, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to decide on whether to extend the designation period of the employment crisis areas and the special employment support industry for shipbuilding through the Employment Policy Deliberation Committee in December.

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