Ministry of Industry Mobilizes Full Support for Steel Industry Flood Recovery... Supply Inspection TF Activated

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 14th that it will operate the "Steel Flood Recovery and Supply-Demand Inspection TF" to support the steel industry affected by Typhoon No. 11 'Hinnamnor'.

The task force (TF) plans to fully support flood site recovery and minimize the ripple effects on demand industries and exports/imports. Along with this, a public-private joint "Steel Supply-Demand Investigation Team," mainly composed of private experts, will be formed within this week to cooperate with the TF.

On the same day, the Ministry held the first TF meeting at the Government Sejong Complex with POSCO, Hyundai Steel, the Steel Association, and the Korea International Trade Association to share the recovery status on site and check the impact on demand industries and exports/imports. It is estimated that the damage to production facilities such as stainless steel and steel plates in the Pohang area is significant due to this damage.

The meeting will discuss the recovery status and difficulties of the Pohang Steel National Industrial Complex, the current status and outlook of steel demand in the automobile and shipbuilding industries, and trends and forecasts of steel exports and imports.

POSCO, Hyundai Steel, and others plan to convey difficulties in the recovery process such as procurement of recovery materials and temporary relaxation of the 52-hour workweek system, and request active government support. At a briefing, First Vice Minister Youngjin Jang said, "The temporary relaxation of the 52-hour workweek system is a special situation (such as typhoon damage), so it is expected to proceed without difficulty."

The Ministry explained, "Steel is called the 'rice of industry' because it is an important material for all industries," and added, "Through the Steel Supply-Demand Investigation Team, we will accurately predict the timing of normalization of steel production and proactively secure the stability of our industry's supply chain."

Meanwhile, POSCO Pohang Steelworks has suspended product production since the 6th due to flooding caused by the typhoon. Currently, three blast furnaces have resumed operation, but the rolling line (a process of processing steel by applying heat and pressure), which suffered the greatest damage, is still under recovery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.