Cement Industry Takes Quick Steps to Minimize Witnesses at National Assembly Audit

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] As owners and CEOs of the cement industry have been widely requested to testify in the first National Assembly audit since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the industry is busily working to minimize the number of witnesses.

The cement industry is predominantly concerned that the audit will be harsh, as it includes entrenched issues such as cement manufacturing components and detection of heavy metals, the introduction of local resource facility tax (cement tax), as well as newly highlighted topics this year like violations of serious accidents and conflicts with the ready-mix concrete industry due to price increases.

In fact, Jeon Geun-sik, CEO of Hanil Hyundai Cement, has been requested as a witness for the upcoming audit by the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee and the Environment and Labor Committee scheduled for the 4th of next month. Additionally, for the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee audit on the 18th of next month, key industry figures including CEO Jeon, Chairman Hong Sa-seung of Ssangyong C&E, Chairman Jeong Do-won of Sampyo Group, Chairman Lee Hoon-beom of Asia Group, CEO Kim Sang-gyu of Sungshin Cement, and CEO Kim Hoon-seok of Korea C&T are expected to be summoned in large numbers. On the 24th of next month, Yoon In-gon, co-CEO of Sampyo Industry, is also on the summons list.

During the Industry Committee audit, conflicts with the ready-mix concrete industry due to cement price increases will be addressed; the Environment and Labor Committee will focus on heavy metal detection in waste cement; and the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee will question the manufacturing components of cement used in artificial reef production.

However, the final witness list remains variable. Some political circles predict that except for CEO Jeon and CEO Yoon, others are likely to be excluded from the list. CEO Jeon is expected to be questioned on the fairness of the cement price increase process, and CEO Yoon on violations related to serious accidents. However, it is highly likely that Co-CEO Kim Seon-bae will be selected instead of CEO Yoon, as the site where the serious accident occurred was a gravel quarry, and Kim is in charge of the gravel division.

A cement industry official said, "Aside from determining right or wrong, there was considerable concern about the audit being a spectacle to disgrace businesspeople. Especially this year, with new issues such as price increases emerging, the burden was significant, so it is fortunate that witness summonses have been minimized. We need to prepare well to dispel misunderstandings about the cement industry."

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