Reasons for Proposal
Korea’s petrochemical industry has the world’s fifth-largest production capacity, and its production volume accounts for 7.3% of the country’s production volume as of 2013. It serves as an industrial backbone of the country.
However, companies in the petrochemical industry tend to gather in places with good integrated benefits or synergistic effects. Large-scale petrochemical complexes are established in Seosan, Ulsan, and Yeosu and produce most of the petrochemical raw materials and intermediate products manufactured in Korea.
As a result, large and small accidents such as fires and oil leaks often occur in petrochemical complexes, and have an adverse effect on the environment of the surrounding areas and continue to cause harm to the health and property of residents.
However, measures for such problems are insufficient, which increases social conflicts and complaints in the areas around petrochemical complexes. It is necessary to quickly prepare support measures for the surrounding areas by considering benefits for society as a whole when a certain region accepts a petrochemical complex.
In this regard, this Act aims to legislate support for the areas around petrochemical complexes and allow the central and local governments to collaborate in providing support to residents in these areas to improve the quality of life for the residents and facilitate the development of the petrochemical industry.
Details
A. Establish the Surrounding Area Support Project Review Committee under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to review important matters on support projects and the Surrounding Area Support Project Review Local Committee by petrochemical complex (Article 3).
B. Require the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to establish a support project plan every year and the competent head of Si/Gun/Gu for the surrounding areas to establish a long-term support project plan in the region in consultation with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (Article 4).
C. Allow energy and resources business special accounts under the Energy and Resources Business Special Accounting Act to bear expenses for support projects (Article 7).
D. Require subsidies to be used for the surrounding areas and for areas other than the surrounding areas if prescribed by Presidential Decree to efficiently implement support projects or seek balanced development in the region (Article 8).
E. Prioritize support projects for residents in the surrounding areas deemed to have transferred their homes or lost their livelihood due to the construction of a petrochemical complex (Article 9).
F. Allow the support project operator to use earlier subsidies or carry them over to efficiently implement support projects (Article 10).
G. Require the support project operator to manage subsidies separately from other budgets and carry over interest arising from the managed subsidies to the next year after settling it in every fiscal year (Article 11).
H. Allow the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to stop support projects after review by the Surrounding Area Support Project Review Committee and recover the subsidies not used yet if support projects are stopped or not provide the same amount in the next year (Articles 12 and 13).
I. Allow the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to evaluate support projects and increase or decrease subsidies depending on the evaluation (Article 14).
J. Require the support project operator to prepare a settlement report on support projects every year and submit it to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy by February 10 of the following year (Article 17).
Notes
This Amendment is based on the premise that the Partial Amendment to the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act (Bill no. 9160) and the Partial Amendment to the Energy and Resources Business Special Accounting Act (Bill no. 9161), represented and proposed by National Assembly member Sung Il-jong, is passed. If the bill is not passed or is passed with modification, this Act must be adjusted accordingly.
