Yeosu City, Special Act on Petrochemical Industry Passed by National Assembly... 'Laying the Foundation for Industrial Complex Competitiveness'

Expectations for Various Forms of Support
for Business Restructuring and Transition to High Value-Added Industries

Yeosu City in South Jeolla Province announced on the night of December 2 that the “Special Act on Strengthening the Competitiveness and Support of the Petrochemical Industry” (hereinafter referred to as the Special Act on the Petrochemical Industry) had been passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly.

According to the city on December 3, a total of three related bills were submitted following the sponsorship of the main bill by National Assemblyman Joo Cheolhyeon in June. During the review process by the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, a consolidated and coordinated committee alternative was approved at the plenary session on this day, leading to the final enactment of the law.

Yeosu City Hall building exterior.

The main contents of the Special Act include tax, fiscal, and financial support, regulatory exemptions, priority support for national research and development projects, support for training and education of professionals and current employees, and measures to ease employment instability and protect workers.

In particular, if a company engages in joint action with another petrochemical business operator according to a business restructuring plan, it will be deemed to have obtained approval under the Fair Trade Act if approved by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.

However, special provisions for electricity rate reductions and direct import of natural gas, which the petrochemical industry has continuously requested, were discussed during the standing committee review process but were not included in the final bill.

Previously, after being designated as an Industrial Crisis Response Area in May, Yeosu City established response strategies to overcome the crisis in the petrochemical industry and to restore the local economy. The city has continuously proposed support projects to the government and the National Assembly. As a result, in October, Yeosu secured an additional two years of general grant support for industrial crisis areas.

Jeong Kimyeong, Mayor of Yeosu, stated, “The passage of this special act is highly significant in that it helps overcome the crisis in the petrochemical industry, supports business restructuring, and serves as an important turning point for the recovery of the struggling local economy. We will continue to do our utmost to ensure that the demands of the industry are reflected in subordinate regulations such as enforcement decrees and enforcement rules.”

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