As the government is drawing up a 25 trillion won supplementary budget to respond to the energy supply-and-demand crisis stemming from the Middle East situation, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said it reached a consensus with the government on including funding in the supplementary budget to cover the price gap for alternative imports of naphtha.
On the morning of the day, Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do visited a plastic product manufacturing plant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, presided over an on-site roundtable, and said, "At the party-government consultation on the supplementary budget yesterday (on the 26th), we stressed that funding to cover the price gap for alternative imports of naphtha must be included in the war-time supplementary budget, and we reached a consensus with the government."
Naphtha is a substance produced in the oil refining process and is a basic raw material for plastic, synthetic resins, and chemical fibers. About 55% of domestic supply is produced domestically, but supply instability has grown as supply-and-demand disruptions and price surges have overlapped due to recent instability in the Middle East. In response, the government on the 23rd designated naphtha as an economic security item and began export controls on the 27th.
At the roundtable, Floor Leader Han also listened to the industry's situation and difficulties. Floor Leader Han said, "(Plastic manufacturers) are facing a double burden of shouldering the sharp rise in raw material supply prices such as synthetic resins while being unable to fully reflect it in their delivery unit prices," adding, "We were able to confirm this on site today."
He added, "We are well aware that instability in the supply of naphtha, known as the 'rice of industry,' is heightening a sense of crisis in the plastic sector," and emphasized, "This not only affects the industrial ecosystem as a whole but could also cause confusion and inconvenience in people's daily lives over the mid to long term, so swift, nationwide responses and support are needed."
Floor Leader Han said, "The government is striving to stabilize supply and demand by supporting the securing of alternative import sources," and added, "As the Democratic Party launched a social dialogue body for the petrochemical industry the previous day, we plan to actively support responses to the surge in raw material prices and win-win cooperation."