[THE INVESTOR] The government will strive to reduce the negative economic impact of corporate restructuring in the troubled shipbuilding and shipping industries, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said on June 23.

“The government will draw plans to bolster smooth corporate restructuring and business reorganization, and to improve the competitiveness of key industries,” he said while visiting a shipyard in Ulsan on the southeastern coast.

“We will utilize all measures to fend off job instability and a slowdown in the local economy.”

Widespread corporate restructuring is underway in the many ailing shipbuilding and shipping firms, with massive layoffs and bankruptcies of subcontracting companies considered unavoidable.

The latest data showed that the unemployment rate in the southeastern area, where most of the troubled shipbuilders are located, has started to pick up pace, sparking concerns that it may spread to other industries and pull down the entire economy.

Some have argued that the government should take preemptive measures before the fallout from the corporate restructuring becomes more visible.

The minister said the government will designate the shipbuilding sector as a specially administered industry to increase the subsidies given to employers and jobless workers.

The government will also aid skilled workers laid off from shipbuilding companies get retrained for jobs in industries like semiconductor and petroleum, he added.

The measures to support corporate restructuring are expected to be included in a set of stimulus plans scheduled to be released by the Finance Ministry next week.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)