"What We Need Is a Place to Work": University Students in Ulsan Call for Energy Resources Corporation to Be Located in Ulsan

[Financial News | Ulsan — Choi Su-sang, reporter] The student councils of four universities in Ulsan Metropolitan City held a joint press conference and strongly called for the provisionally named Energy Resources Corporation, the integrated headquarters of Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), to be located in Ulsan to secure jobs for young people in the city and help them settle locally.
Kim Jin-su, president of the University of Ulsan's student council, along with the presidents of the student councils at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan College, and Choonhae College of Health Sciences, held a press conference on the 29th at the Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall press center and urged the government, "Please decide the location of the Energy Resources Corporation based on the interests of the nation as a whole and industrial linkages, not population size or political advantage."
Cha Min-ju, president of the Choonhae College of Health Sciences student council, appealed, "Ulsan should not be a city where it is taken for granted that people must leave the moment they graduate from college. Young people who studied in Ulsan should be able to choose their futures in Ulsan."
People have been leaving Ulsan for 11 consecutive years, and half of them are young people in their 20s and 30s. The share of young people in Ulsan's population is only 23.5%, down 6.2% from 10 years ago. The student leaders argued that the outflow of young people is caused by a lack of jobs.
They believe that making proper use of Ulsan's industrial base and capabilities would create sufficient jobs for young people and generate mutually beneficial effects for businesses and the region.
Jeong Hwan-gyo, chair of the Central Emergency Committee of the UNIST undergraduate student council, said, "Ulsan is a city where energy industries, including oil, gas, and hydrogen, are concentrated. It has related storage and production facilities and pipeline networks, as well as many companies preparing for future energy industries, including Hyundai Motor Company and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Since energy-related public institutions such as Korea East-West Power (EWP) and the Korea Energy Economics Institute are already concentrated here, adding the Energy Resources Corporation would enable these institutions and companies, universities, and research institutes to become even more closely connected."
Lee Se Myung, president of the Ulsan College student council, said, "The Energy Resources Corporation is said to have approximately 5,800 employees. Locating the headquarters of such a large public institution in Ulsan would not only create direct jobs, but also build an ecosystem in which professional jobs in research and policy, affiliated companies, and related startups could grow together."
He added, "Universities should not continue producing young people only for graduates to leave for other regions in search of jobs."
[email protected] Choi Su-sang Reporter