Chemical Industry Day Inaugurated

1st Chemical Industry Day event observed on Oct. 28

Approximately 400 people from government and chemical industry circles and other walks of life assembled for a ceremony at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on Oct. 28 to celebrate the first Chemical Industry Day.
Among those present were Rep. Kim Ki-hyun, Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Rim Chae-min and chemical industry representatives.
The Korean chemical industry, a key sector for supplying basic raw materials to Korea’s mainstay industries, has served as a driving force behind national economic growth as an exporting industry. The industry ranked third at 80 trillion won in terms of the value of production among manufacturing industries and second in terms of exports at $48 billion.
However, the chemical industry before had no official occasion to discuss the future of the chemical industry. The government decided to designate Oct. 31 as Chemical Industry Day in order to celebrate the dedication of the Ulsan Petrochemical Complex on Oct. 31, 1972. The first Chemical Industry Day celebration, however, took place on Oct. 28, as Oct. 31 was on a Saturday.
The Chemical Industry Day event was held by integrating planned diverse events under the joint sponsorship of the existing chemical-related organizations in order to ensure solidarity among related industries, sustainable development and to provide an opportunity to exchange information.
Lee Sang-il, executive director of SK Energy, and Kim Chang-kyu, vice president of Honam Petrochemical Corp., were both presented with the Presidential Award and were among the 14 award winners at the anniversary event. Lee was credited with playing leading roles in boosting the production capacity of basic chemical products in the petrochemical industry and optimizing process efficiency, while Kim was recognized for developing new products, including polypropylene nano compounds.
The “Green Chemical Forum for Stepping up the Green Competitiveness of the Chemical Industry,” jointly headed by Rep. Kim Ki-hyun and Hur Won-joon, chairman of the Korea Chemical Industry Association, was inaugurated prior to the inauguration of Chemical Industry Day. The forum is expected to serve as a think tank to discuss and suggest diverse topics and alternative options to realize a green chemical powerhouse and explore the direction of the chemical industry in order to cope with global issues including recent climate change pacts, organizers said.
Vice Minister Rim said in his commemorative message at the anniversary event that it is meaningful to pledge to ensure the solidarity of the chemical industry and take another step forward by inaugurating Chemical Industry Day.
He stressed the need for preemptively responding to fast-changing international environmental changes to ensure the sustainable development of the chemical industry as well as upgrading petrochemical companies to advanced levels by restricting their business portfolios to core capacity arenas and collaborating among petrochemical companies to maximize energy utilization efficiency and the recycling of by-products. Rim also emphasized the need for changing the chemical industry into a value-added one through the development of future-oriented new materials and new products. nw

(right) Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Rim Chae-min delivers a speech at the 1st Chemical Industry Day on Oct. 28. Korea Petrochemical Industry Association Chairman Hur Won-joon also speaks at the anniversary event.