Busan City Launches Task Force to Respond to Geumyang Delisting... Support Measures for Partner Companies and Workers Initiated

Busan City has launched a response system to minimize the economic shock to the local economy following the delisting decision of Geumyang Co., Ltd.

On May 21, Busan City announced that it has established a corporate crisis response task force and will implement support measures for partner companies and workers to mitigate the regional economic impact of the Geumyang incident.

According to the city, Geumyang, a mid-sized company founded in 1955, has mainly produced eco-friendly foaming agents and recently entered the secondary battery business, but continued business deterioration has ensued. Geumyang received disclaimers of opinion from external auditors in both 2025 and 2026, and on May 20, the Korea Exchange held a listing disclosure committee meeting and decided to delist the company. Geumyang has announced plans to file an injunction to suspend the effect of the decision.

The secondary battery plant in East Busan E-Park Industrial Complex, Gijang-gun, began construction in September 2023, but work is currently suspended. The construction progress is reportedly at around 87 percent.

Busan City explained that since March, it has held issue review meetings chaired by the Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs and conducted consultations with relevant organizations. The city also stated that it has established a cooperation system with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the financial sector, and the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The city is closely monitoring the possibility that delayed wage payments at Geumyang and labor-management conflicts could become sources of instability in the local community, especially as the global secondary battery industry continues to stagnate due to the electric vehicle slowdown and increased competition from Chinese firms. However, the city expects the overall impact on local partner companies to be limited, since a large portion of Geumyang’s foaming agent exports are shipped abroad and most of the secondary battery equipment suppliers are based outside the region.

The city plans to operate the corporate crisis response task force, headed by the Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs, to take charge of overall response, support for business difficulties, management stabilization, employment stability, and media relations.

In addition, a consolidated consultation desk related to Geumyang will be set up at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s One-Stop Enterprise Support Center, and a special guarantee program worth 10 billion won will be provided to Geumyang’s partner companies. Each company will be eligible for up to 100 million won in support, with 2 percent interest subsidy.

The city also intends to simultaneously offer support for workers through wage arrears counseling, job placement, and vocational training in coordination with the Job Support Center at City Hall and the Haeundae Center.

Busan City Hall.

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