Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol has called on the nation’s petrochemical industry to undertake sweeping restructuring to overcome oversupply and falling competitiveness.

Speaking at a meeting on industry competitiveness on Wednesday, Koo said ten major firms will be required to submit detailed restructuring plans by year’s end, with a target of cutting up to three-point-seven million tons of naphtha cracking capacity.

He stressed that companies and major shareholders must make “painful self-help efforts,” warning that those who delay or attempt to free-ride will be excluded from government support.

Koo said the government will also provide comprehensive assistance, including regulatory easing, financing and tax incentives, for firms that present credible plans.

The minister also cited the shipbuilding industry’s dramatic rebound after painful restructuring as a model for petrochemicals to follow.