The People Power Party decided to push for a special bill to support Korea's steel industry, known as the K-Steel Act, to strengthen competitiveness and transition to green steel technology. The bill was jointly proposed by 106 lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, and the ruling party had previously stated it would adopt it as its party policy.
Song Eon-seok, chairperson of the emergency response committee of the People Power Party and floor leader, said at an emergency response committee meeting held at Bexco in Busan on the afternoon of the 12th, "We will promote the so-called K-Steel Act to alleviate the burden on the steel industry, which will face a 50% high tariff due to low-carbon research and development and expansion of production facilities."
He continued, "As a result of recent tariff negotiations with the United States, the main export industries in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area, such as automobiles and steel, have inevitably been affected," adding, "We will promote the so-called Korean-style IRA Act as party policy to support national strategic technology industries, such as secondary batteries, artificial intelligence, and future transportation, and various measures will be implemented, including expanding tax benefits and introducing direct subsidies."
The K-Steel Act is a national-level support law for the Korean steel industry proposed by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Eo Gi-gu, co-representative of the National Assembly Steel Forum, and People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi. It primarily includes the establishment of a "Special Committee for Strengthening Competitiveness in the Steel Industry," chaired by the President, to establish basic and implementation plans every five years. It also includes provisions for expanding various infrastructure and tax support for the steel industry.
The government maintained the tariff on steel products at 50% in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations concluded on the 31st of last month. The steel industry is concerned that exports will be practically blocked due to the elimination of the zero-tariff quota for exports to the U.S., resulting in a 50% tariff increase. Both the ruling and opposition parties plan to launch comprehensive support through collaboration to address the challenges faced by the steel industry.
The Democratic Party also plans to adopt the K-Steel Act as its party policy and promote it. Kim Byeong-ki, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said during a floor strategy meeting on the 7th, "We will promote the K-Steel Act as party policy," adding, "The steel industry is currently facing significant difficulties. Low-cost imports from China are flooding the market, and carbon regulations are intensifying."