Vice Minister Mun Sin-hak of the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on the 3rd that "we are preparing to finalize the petrochemical restructuring plan within this year and to begin full implementation early next year."
The Vice Minister stated accordingly at a press briefing with reporters held at a restaurant near Sejong on the afternoon of the day, saying, "In the case of the (South Chungcheong) Daesan petrochemical complex, HD Hyundai Chemical and LOTTE Chemical have drafted and submitted a preliminary plan."
The Vice Minister said, "We expect the creditors' council due diligence to be completed in November," adding, "the government also aims to conclude interagency consultations at the same time and announce the business restructuring plan in December."
The Vice Minister explained that the current restructuring of the petrochemical industry is proceeding on two tracks, "consultations between the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the industry" and "interagency consultations," adding, "Project-by-project financing will mainly be carried out through creditor institutions, and the government budget will support large-scale R&D cooperation projects centered on specialty (high value-added) areas and measures such as exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies."
Regarding the annual $20 billion investment plan agreed upon by Korea and the United States, the Vice Minister said, "The U.S. government will have plans it wants, and there will be a process of reaching agreement with us."
In response to a question about whether work on the document containing the details of the agreement (Joint Fact Sheet) is being delayed, he said, "Consultations between the two countries have been going very well so far, so it is not a situation of great concern."
On the possibility that expanded investment in the United States could lead to hollowing out of domestic industry, he said, "Our large conglomerates are already executing the Mother Factory strategy in key industries better than any other country," adding, "The government is reviewing whether major strategic industries and large companies can maintain and advance what they have been doing well at the ecosystem level. We will announce measures to support the domestic industrial ecosystem in the near future."
Regarding the special act on RE100 industrial complexes, he said, "We aim to merge the three bills currently introduced and pass them in the National Assembly by year's end," adding, "Because this is directly linked to people's livelihoods and regional economies, we expect smooth progress."
On the plan to establish the 2035 national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC), he said, "The government's final plan has not yet been released. Intense discussions are underway within the government," adding, "To respond to climate change, we must reduce carbon to the maximum extent, and in this process, it is a difficult problem to achieve simultaneously the two policy goals that industrial competitiveness must not decline."
He added, "Intense discussion is desirable to derive a reasonable plan," and "It is difficult to speak to the range, but we are consulting with numbers in hand. We are moving into the final stage."