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Gov't designates Seosan, Pohang as special zones for industrial crisis response

Published: 28 Aug. 2025, 08:53

This undated file photo shows a steelmaking plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang. [YONHAP]

The government on Thursday designated Seosan and Pohang as special crisis-response zones as Korea's petrochemical and steel sectors struggle with global oversupply, the Industry Ministry said.

Seosan, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Seoul, was chosen because it hosts one of the country's three major petrochemical industrial complexes. Pohang, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was picked for its heavy dependence on the ailing steel industry, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The two cities will be classified as special zones for preemptive response to an industrial crisis for the next two years, making their local companies eligible for emergency liquidity support and low-interest policy loan programs, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, the government unveiled a plan to support the "voluntary" restructuring efforts of the petrochemical industry amid concerns that local petrochemical companies may not survive the ongoing crisis sparked by sluggish global demand and the oversupply of Chinese products.

The government already designated the southwestern city of Yeosu, which also hosts a petrochemical industrial complex, as such a zone in May.

The Korean steel sector has been hit hard by the United States' 50 percent tariffs on all imported steel products on top of global oversupply over the past few years.

In July, Korea's steel exports to the United States tumbled 26 percent from a year earlier to $283 million due to tariff effects, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.

The ministry said it plans to devise additional measures to help the industries boost their competitiveness, such as financial support for research and development projects.

Yonhap