Dark clouds hang over Ulsan<\/p>\n
By Andrew Browne<\/p>\n
ULSAN, South Korea (Reuter): In his grand vision for Ulsan,
\ngeneral-turned-president Park Chung-hee spoke dreamily of a
\npolluted city, of \"black smoke belching into the sky to end South
\nKorea's famine\".<\/p>\n
That was back in 1962 when memories of wartime famine and
\ndestruction were still fresh, and Ulsan was being transformed
\nfrom a sleepy whaling port into an industrial hub.<\/p>\n
A haze of pollution now lingers over the world's biggest
\npetrochemical plant, the grandest shipyard of all time and the
\nnation's largest autoworks.<\/p>\n
But darker clouds lie on the horizon.<\/p>\n
The industries that make Ulsan the country's premier
\nindustrial city are in trouble, and their armies of workers face
\nan uncertain future.<\/p>\n
With cities such as Ulsan in mind, the South Korean government
\nlast month tried to force through parliament a new labor law that
\nwould give firms greater power to hire and fire, making it easier
\nfor them to shed sunset industries and embrace new technologies.<\/p>\n
Unions in Ulsan and elsewhere were furious and launched almost
\nfour weeks of strikes that helped persuade President Kim Young-
\nsam to send the bill back to parliament for revision.<\/p>\n
Ulsan Mayor Shim Wan Gu is one of Kim's closest political
\nassociates, and is related to the president through marriage.<\/p>\n
\"I worry that Ulsan could walk down the same road as
\nPittsburgh in the U.S., or Glasgow or Newcastle in Britain,\" said
\nShim, ticking off several cradles of the Industrial Revolution
\nthat slid into decline.<\/p>\n
Shim boasts that when factory whistles blow in Ulsan to signal
\nthe end of the working day, more workers pass through factory
\ngates than in any Asian city bar those in China.<\/p>\n
Hyundai Heavy Industries employs 27,000 workers at its
\nshipyard that operates a million-ton capacity dry dock and is
\nable to build 23 ships of various sizes simultaneously.
\nIts sister company, Hyundai Motor, has 29,000 workers on
\nproduction lines.<\/p>\n
Down the coast, Yukong Ltd daily spurts out 800,000 barrels of
\noil products with 4,000 workers.<\/p>\n
But prices of ships are plummeting, South Korea's car market
\nis saturated and Asian petrochemical markets are swamped with
\nexcess capacity. Other Asian producers with cheaper labor costs
\nare quickly catching up with South Korea.<\/p>\n
As he maps out plans for Ulsan into the next century, Shim
\nsees manufacturing industry in decline. In its place will rise
\nnew industries in information, telecommunications and
\nelectronics.<\/p>\n
\"We hope Ulsan will emerge as the center of the Pacific Rim in
\nthe 21st century,\" said Shim.<\/p>\n
Ahead lies wrenching industrial restructuring.<\/p>\n
\"We have already started to move some workers in shipbuilding
\nto other departments in the company,\" said Chung Jae-hun a
\nspokesman for Hyundai Heavy, which is moving into higher-
\ntechnology production in areas such as engine turbines where its
\nskilled workforce can create more value.<\/p>\n
\"Since 1993 shipbuilding has been suffering as orders for
\ntankers have gone down,\" Chung said.<\/p>\n
None of Ulsan's large companies will admit to any plans to
\ntrim their workforces.<\/p>\n
\"We're short of staff as it is,\" said Chung Jae-hun, a Hyundai
\nHeavy management official. \"We can move workers around within the
\ncompany.\"<\/p>\n
Ulsan workers profess not to be worried. \"The company had ways
\nto lay off workers even before the new law,\" said Hyundai Motor
\nCo union leader Kim Ki-hyuk.<\/p>\n
But such complacency may be misplaced.<\/p>\n
Last week, South Korea's second largest steelmaker collapsed
\nunder a mountain of debt. Thousands of jobs are now in the
\nbalance at Hanbo Steel and its suppliers as banks desperately put
\ntogether a rescue package.<\/p>",
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