Incheon's Dong District, where Korea's steelmakers such as Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk Steel Mill are clustered, was designated on the 15th as an advance response employment crisis area. The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) designates areas at risk of a sharp deterioration in employment as advance response employment crisis areas and provides fiscal support.
The ministry said it convened the 3rd Employment Policy Committee meeting that day and reviewed and approved a plan to designate Incheon's Dong District as an advance response employment crisis area. Going forward, Dong District will see increases in employment retention subsidies, employer training subsidies, and vocational training living expense loan amounts.
Incheon's Dong District is home to clusters of Korea's major steelmakers, including Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk Steel Mill. However, steel corporations are facing difficulties as competition with low-priced Chinese steel intensifies and the construction market slumps, while the Middle East crisis has erupted. Earlier, Hyundai Steel's Incheon plant decided early this year to cut output by half due to a decline in rebar demand and shut down part of its production facilities.
The designation period for an advance response employment crisis area is typically one year. However, Incheon's Dong District will be covered through June 30. That is because, due to an administrative district reorganization, Dong District will be abolished on July 1 and merged with part of Jung District to become Jemulpo District. The ministry said that if there is a recommendation in the second half of the year to designate Jemulpo District as an advance response employment crisis area, it will review whether to grant the designation.