South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring begins with high-stakes Daesan plan



Briefings South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring begins with high-stakes Daesan plan Restructuring bid will test whether Seoul can deliver rapid capacity cuts to stabilize finances and avert wider defaults KOREA PRONovember 27, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Lotte Chemical's Yeosu complex \| Image: Lotte Chemical South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) said Wednesday that HD Hyundai Oilbank, HD Hyundai Chemical and Lotte Chemical have submitted a joint application for approval of a restructuring plan involving the consolidation of operations at the Daesan industrial complex. Under the proposal, Lotte Chemical will spin off its Daesan petrochemical business and merge it into HD Hyundai Chemical, aiming to rationalize naphtha cracker and commodity petrochemical capacity and establish a vertically integrated refining-to-petrochemicals operating structure. The plan, filed under the Corporate Vitalization Act, is the first restructuring case submitted since the government announced an industry-wide overhaul © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 02AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 03South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 04Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 05Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility 06US midterm clock raises stakes for South Korea’s $200 billion investment talks 07Lee’s Hormuz red line tests South Korea’s leverage in $350 billion US talks 08South Korea’s AI data center boom is colliding with the true cost of power

Briefings

South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring begins with high-stakes Daesan plan

Restructuring bid will test whether Seoul can deliver rapid capacity cuts to stabilize finances and avert wider defaults

KOREA PRONovember 27, 2025

South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring begins with high-stakes Daesan plan

Lotte Chemical's Yeosu complex | Image: Lotte Chemical

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) said Wednesday that HD Hyundai Oilbank, HD Hyundai Chemical and Lotte Chemical have submitted a joint application for approval of a restructuring plan involving the consolidation of operations at the Daesan industrial complex. Under the proposal, Lotte Chemical will spin off its Daesan petrochemical business and merge it into HD Hyundai Chemical, aiming to rationalize naphtha cracker and commodity petrochemical capacity and establish a vertically integrated refining-to-petrochemicals operating structure.

The plan, filed under the Corporate Vitalization Act, is the first restructuring case submitted since the government announced an industry-wide overhaul

South Korea’s petrochemical restructuring begins with high-stakes Daesan plan

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