Follow-up legislation reflects input from steel industry and industrial crisis preemptive response zones

Eo Gi-gu, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Eo Gi-gu, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Eo Gi-gu, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Dangjin and the lead representative of the National Assembly Steel Forum, said Sunday he had introduced four follow-up bills on Friday — a package dubbed the "K-Steel Act 2.0" — aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of South Korea's steel industry.

Eo is credited with spearheading the enactment of the K-Steel Act last year, South Korea's first special law dedicated to the steel industry, which was co-sponsored by 106 ruling and opposition lawmakers through the National Assembly Steel Forum.

According to Eo, the follow-up bills are designed to enhance the policy impact of the K-Steel Act and more effectively address the structural challenges facing the steel industry. The package comprises four amendments: to the Electric Utility Act, the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, the Special Act on Response to Regional Industrial Crisis and Recovery of Local Economies, and the Customs Act.

The amendment to the Electric Utility Act would allow exemptions from the electricity industry base fund levy imposed on industrial electricity users in industrial crisis preemptive response zones. The amendment to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act would classify the steel industry as a nationally strategic technology sector, expanding tax support for research and development and facility investment.

The amendment to the Special Act on Response to Regional Industrial Crisis would ease the designation requirements for industrial crisis preemptive response zones and extend the maximum designation period from two years to five years. The amendment to the Customs Act would exempt basic tariffs on steel auxiliary raw materials heavily dependent on foreign supply, reducing cost burdens on companies.

According to Eo, the legislation was drafted with broad input from steelmakers and industrial crisis preemptive response zones — including Dangjin, Pohang and Gwangyang — that have been struggling with a global supply glut, an influx of low-cost Chinese steel, and tightening trade barriers in the United States and Europe. The bills incorporate demands that industry stakeholders have consistently raised: relief from electricity costs, expanded tax support, longer support periods for industrial crisis zones, and improved tariffs on raw materials.

"If last year's K-Steel Act laid the institutional foundation for supporting the steel industry, K-Steel Act 2.0 is the substantive follow-up legislation addressing the most urgent needs identified on the ground," Eo said. "I expect it will go a long way toward strengthening the competitiveness of steel companies and helping industrial crisis preemptive response zones recover as quickly as possible."


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