Pohang City held a meeting of its "regional economic crisis response committee" at the city hall auditorium on Wednesday to address the fallout from Posco's labor-management dispute. (Pohang City)
Pohang City held a meeting of its "regional economic crisis response committee" at the city hall auditorium on Wednesday to address the fallout from Posco's labor-management dispute. (Pohang City)

Pohang City, in North Gyeongsang Province, held a meeting of its "regional economic crisis response committee" at the city hall auditorium on Wednesday. The meeting aimed to urgently review the local economic impact of Posco's labor-management dispute and prepare preemptive countermeasures.

The meeting included officials from Pohang City, the Pohang City Council, the Pohang branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Posco and the Pohang Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Also attending were representatives from the Pohang Iron and Steel Industrial Complex Management Corp., financial and economic institutions, small merchants and traditional markets, and Posco's partner companies.

Posco's labor union has been staging a work-to-rule campaign, refusing extended and holiday work. Since Wednesday, it has carried out a partial strike at one factory each at the Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks.

Accordingly, participants agreed to continuously monitor Posco's production and shipment status, along with the management and employment trends of its partner firms. They also agreed to closely track the impact on small merchants, traditional markets and other aspects of the local economy.

Participants agreed to work together to ensure that, ahead of "chuseok," Korea's biggest traditional holiday, the dispute is resolved quickly through mutual respect and dialogue between labor and management. The goal is to minimize the contraction of the local economy, including traditional markets, and normalize production and operations at Posco.

In addition, they agreed to build a close cooperation system among relevant agencies to address community safety risks. These include traffic congestion at steelworks access roads during rallies and protests, as well as safety and air-quality complaints arising from changes in operations.

"If the partial strike drags on, its impact on the local economy and people's livelihoods could grow, so we are closely monitoring the situation together with relevant institutions and organizations," said Park Yong-sun, mayor of Pohang. "Pohang City will also swiftly prepare sector-specific support measures — in employment, finance, taxation and local currency — to do our best to minimize the damage to local businesses, small merchants and other residents."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com