Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon [Yonhap]
Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon [Yonhap]

The government has designated Ulsan's Nam-gu and Incheon's Jeomulpo-gu as preemptive employment crisis zones amid growing job insecurity driven by downturns in the petrochemical and steel industries. The move aims to minimize the impact of corporate restructuring by expanding employment retention subsidies, vocational training and livelihood support funds.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday it held the fifth Employment Policy Deliberation Council meeting of 2026 and voted to extend Nam-gu's designation as a preemptive employment crisis zone by six months and to newly designate Jeomulpo-gu for one year.

The preemptive employment crisis zone system allows the government to proactively designate areas where employment conditions are expected to deteriorate due to large-scale restructuring or a slump in key industries, concentrating job stability support in those regions. Designated areas receive higher employment retention subsidies, expanded support limits under the national skills development card program and increased loan ceilings for livelihood stabilization funds.

Ulsan's Nam-gu, whose designation was extended, is one of the country's leading petrochemical hubs. The government decided to continue support given ongoing business restructuring driven by weak industry conditions, compounded by growing geopolitical uncertainty from the war in the Middle East. With this extension, all three of South Korea's major petrochemical industrial complexes — in South Jeolla Province's Yeosu, South Chungcheong Province's Seosan and Ulsan's Nam-gu — are now covered under the preemptive employment crisis zone system.

Incheon's Jeomulpo-gu was newly designated after the existing crisis zone of Dong-gu — previously designated due to the steel industry slump — was absorbed into the newly created Jeomulpo-gu following an administrative redistricting that took effect Wednesday. The government reviewed relevant employment indicators during the redistricting process to ensure no gap in support, then issued a follow-up designation.

The designations will allow the government to strengthen support for businesses and workers in the affected areas. Employers will be eligible for higher employment retention subsidies when implementing temporary shutdowns or leave programs, while workers will benefit from expanded national skills development card support, vocational training livelihood loans and preferential access to livelihood stabilization funds. The government said the measures are intended to minimize job losses and employment instability arising from industrial restructuring.

"The regional employment situation is extremely serious due to intensifying global competition and changes in the trade environment," Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. "We will actively support workers in these areas experiencing job insecurity so they can feel a real recovery in employment, and we will closely monitor regional employment trends."


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