Vice Minister Jang Young-jin: "Shipbuilding Measures to be Announced Early Next Month... Improving the 'Low-Price Bidding' Structure"

Vice Minister Jang Young-jin: "Measures on Workforce and 52-Hour Workweek Will Be Included"

Jang Young-jin, 1st Vice Minister, Briefing on Steel Flood Recovery and Supply Inspection TF
(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hyung = On the morning of the 14th of this month, Jang Young-jin, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is briefing at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the operation plan of the Steel Flood Recovery and Supply Inspection TF and the joint public-private steel supply survey team. 2022.9.14
kjhpress@yna.co.kr
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will announce support measures for the shipbuilding industry in early next month. The plan is expected to include solutions to the workforce issues in the shipbuilding sector and the problem of 'low-price orders.'

On the 29th, Vice Minister Jang Youngjin held a press briefing in Sejong and stated this. Vice Minister Jang said, "The plan will include measures regarding workforce and the 52-hour workweek issues in the shipbuilding industry," adding, "We aim to use this opportunity to enable the shipbuilding industry to receive fair prices rather than low-price orders."

The Ministry is preparing support measures for the shipbuilding industry due to the chronic labor shortage in the sector. According to the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Plant Association, as of this month, the domestic shipbuilding industry is short of about 9,509 workers compared to the workforce needed to handle the order volume. The industry expects a shortage of 11,099 workers by around June next year.

In addition to shipbuilding, the Ministry plans to announce support measures for key industries such as batteries within this year. A ministry official explained, "We are preparing measures for secondary batteries and displays," and added, "Our goal is to establish strategic roadmaps for the top 10 industries by the end of this year."

＜YONHAP PHOTO-2875＞ POSCO Pohang Steelworks, All Blast Furnaces Operating Normally, Shift to Focused Recovery System for Rolling Process
(Seoul=Yonhap News) POSCO Pohang Steelworks announced on the 15th that all blast furnaces began normal operation on the 12th, and the plant has shifted to a "focused recovery system for the rolling process" to fully restore normal rolling operations. The photo shows the Pohang Steelworks site flooded by heavy rain of 110 millimeters per hour in the early morning of the 6th. 2022.9.15 [Provided by POSCO. Redistribution and DB prohibited]
photo by Yonhap News/2022-09-15 14:01:40/
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Vice Minister Jang also mentioned the POSCO Pohang Steelworks, which suffered flood damage from Typhoon Hinamnor. He said, "Out of 18 factories at Pohang Steelworks, 13 will resume operations within this year," and added, "The remaining factories are expected to normalize around the first quarter of next year." He continued, "There are steel products used in the shipbuilding and automobile industries that are produced only at Pohang Steelworks," and said, "We are discussing with the steel and demand industries to ensure there are no supply disruptions."

He also emphasized the necessity of raising electricity rates. Vice Minister Jang stated, "If electricity rates are increased by 30 won per kWh, the trade balance improves by 2.5 billion dollars over three months," and added, "Postponing the fine dust seasonal management system for 3 to 4 months has a similar effect on improving the trade balance." He explained, "Companies subject to industrial electricity rates consume half of the total electricity," but noted, "(However) the cost recovery rate for industrial electricity rates is only about 70%, which is why there is talk of raising them."

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