Yeosu petrochemical workers protest government-led plan to cut naphtha cracker output

Yeocheon NCC, South Korea’s largest ethylene producer, has decided to shut its No. 2 and No. 3 plants in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. Steam rises from a plant at the Yeosu petrochemical complex on the 9th. [Photo=Yonhap]

Yeosu industrial complex workers on Tuesday criticized a government- and creditor-led plan to voluntarily cut output at naphtha crackers, warning it could lead to mass layoffs and damage the local economy. They said it is unfair to push ahead with talks between the government (creditors) and companies without agreement from workers and the community.

According to political circles, the labor-led Joint Countermeasures Committee for responding to petrochemical restructuring at the Yeosu National Industrial Complex held a news conference at the National Assembly press room and called for a halt to additional NCC cuts in Yeosu and the creation of a multi-party consultative body.

The committee includes the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ South Jeolla headquarters, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions’ South Jeolla headquarters, the Yeosu Industrial Complex Labor Union Council, the KCTU Chemical, Fiber, Food Industries Union’s Gwangju-South Jeolla branch, and the FKTU Chemical Workers Federation’s South Jeolla headquarters.

The committee said the government’s output-cut target for NCC facilities at three major industrial complexes is 2.7 million to 3.7 million tons, and about 3.43 million tons of cuts are already underway. It noted, however, that Ulsan is expanding capacity as S-Oil pursues its 1.8 million-ton Shaheen project.

Yeosu’s cut volume is 1.67 million tons, about half of the nationwide reduction, the committee said. With the government seeking an additional 900,000 to 1.1 million tons in cuts, Yeosu’s total could rise to as much as 2.77 million tons — about 60% of the national total, it said.

The committee said additional cuts by Yeocheon NCC and Lotte Chemical are expected to bring restructuring for regular workers and could trigger mass layoffs among subcontracted workers as downstream volumes fall. It warned of ripple effects across related industries and the broader regional economy.

It also said employment at the Yeosu National Industrial Complex fell about 30% year over year as of the second quarter of 2025, down by about 7,000 workers, and argued that workers and the local community have been excluded from the restructuring process.

The committee said a petrochemical special law enacted last year lacks sufficient measures to protect jobs and the regional economy, and that a recently announced enforcement decree does not adequately reflect views from industrial sites or broader social discussion.

It urged the government to immediately stop unilateral plans for additional cuts. It also called for Yeosu to be upgraded to a higher-level “employment crisis area” designation and demanded legislation to establish a four-party joint committee involving the government, local governments, companies and labor to guarantee participation by workers and the community.

The committee said policy should address what it called an imbalance of “maximum cuts in Yeosu, maximum expansion in Ulsan,” and it urged revisions to the special law and enforcement decree to ensure labor rights, regional balance and participation in governance.

Rep. Jeon Jong-deok of the Progressive Party said, “A one-sided restructuring that excludes the field is not a solution but the start of another crisis,” and called for a multi-party consultative body with workers as key participants to protect jobs and develop practical alternatives to support the region.

* This article has been translated by AI.

SHIN JIA fromjia@ajunews.com