[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s trade minister on Sept. 26 said a set of restructuring measures aimed at improving the competitiveness of the troubled industries, including shipbuilding, steel and petrochemicals will be announced on Sept. 30.
“Starting with steel and petrochemicals industry, we will announce which firms will go under restructuring,” said Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan during a regular parliamentary audit.
The restructuring measures will be based on the result of reviews of the three industrial sectors conducted by three private consulting firms that will be made public on Sept. 28.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan
McKinsey & Company is reporting on the shipbuilding industry, while Boston Consulting Group is in charge of the steel industry. Bain & Co. will review the petrochemical industry.
Industry watchers are concerned whether the review will suggest merging three big shipbuilders --
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering,
Hyundai Heavy Industries and
Samsung Heavy Industries -- as a solution to stay afloat.
By Ahn Sung-mi (
sahn@heraldcorp.com)
