Finance minister vows full support for corporate revamp

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday that the government will give full support to the industries that are undergoing tough restructuring and workers affected to minimize adverse impact.

The South Korea government earlier unveiled a set of stimulus steps, including an 11 trillion won-extra budget, to boost Asia's fourth-largest economy which has been suffering from faltering exports and lukewarm domestic demand.

Its economy-boosting measures focused on cushioning fallout from industry-wide full-scale restructuring in the shaky sectors like shipbuilding that will likely bring about massive layoffs, weighing heavily on the job market and the entire economy.

Major shipbuilders, including industry leader Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., announced self-rescue plans, including asset sales and downsizing, following severe financial strain in the face of a fall in new orders amid a protracted slump in the world's economy.

"The government will support workers one by one who are experiencing financial difficulties due to the ongoing restructuring," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in an economy-related ministers meeting in Seoul. "I will also come up with a comprehensive plan to assist the regions where major shipyards are located."

The unemployment rate in Ulsan, where the country's No. 1 shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is headquartered, gained 0.4 percentage point on-year to 3.6 percent in June, while South Gyeongsang Province, where other major shipbuilders are located, saw its rate soar 1 percentage point to 3.9 percent. Over the same period, the country's unemployment rate stood at an average 3.6 percent.

The top economic policymaker also said that the government will take strict action against labor strifes in the shipbuilding sector as the country is making utmost efforts to go through painstaking corporate restructuring.

Unionized workers at the major shipyards including Hyundai Heavy Industries have staged rounds of partial strikes in protest against the government-led toughened overhaul and downsizing.

"The strike in the big shipbuilding companies will hurt subcontractors suffering from rising job insecurity and undermine economic recovery," said Yoo, who is also double hatted as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs. "The government will sternly cope with strikes in accordance with the law and principles."  (Yonhap)