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The situation is completely different for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while large corporations are making record-high performances due to the rapid economic recovery. The difficulties were further exacerbated as the soaring production cost could not be reflected in the delivery price.



Reporters Lee Seong-hoon and Han Sang-woo will take a look at the most difficult parts right now, the electricity bill and the shortage of manpower.



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A metal processing and surface treatment company in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do.



Electricity is used for all processes, and most of them are driven during the daytime.



[The period from 9:00 to 16:00 is the time we use the most, but the electricity bill is the most expensive at this time.] In



order to distribute the burden of electricity supply, KEPCO is below cost during light-load hours when electricity usage is low, that is, half of the general industrial rate. is supplying power.



To take advantage of these benefits, the top 30 largest enterprises concentrate 54% of their electricity usage during light-load hours, but small and medium-sized enterprises cannot afford it.



This is because large enterprises can concentrate on operation at night through automation or power storage system construction, but small and medium-sized enterprises are not easy to invest in such facilities.



Difficulty in manpower also prevents adjustment of working hours.



[CEO Jang-seop / Metal processing/surface treatment company: In large companies, the labor shortage is not as severe as in small and medium-sized enterprises, so they are continuously operating 24 hours a day, but as the 52-hour week system is fully implemented, (small and medium-sized enterprises) work during light load at night. Because I can't... .]



Due to the intensive use of light-load electricity by large companies, KEPCO increased the operation rate of peak-load power generation facilities, which are operated only when electricity consumption is high due to expensive raw materials, from 22% in 2017 to 34% in the first half of this year, leading to an increase in power generation costs.



The electricity bill sold by KEPCO to SMEs over the past five years is 17% higher than that of large companies, and 9 out of 10 SMEs complain of a burden.



[Shin Jeong-hoon / Democratic Party Assemblyman (National Assembly Industrial Self-Defense Force): It should be provided as an incentive to small and medium-sized enterprises or companies using the green premium system by reducing the discount range of light-load rates, where benefits are concentrated on large companies... .]



As the electricity rate increase has already been decided in the fourth quarter, the fee burden is inevitably increasing. It is necessary to improve the rate system to relieve the anxieties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).



(Video editing: So-young Lee, VJ: Min-gu Jeong)



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Mr. Lim, who runs a small manufacturer in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, has virtually given up on finding a Korean production job.



[Manufacturer's representative: If you advertise for a job, someone who is 60 years old, 59 years old, 55 years old, etc... .]




I prefer young people, but I can't even find them.



We have no choice but to rely on foreign workers, but saving after Corona is a star in the sky.



[CEO of recycling company: Still, before the corona virus, I did not lie and stood in line when I advertised.

I don't even have a phone right now.

There are no foreign workers at all.]



Due to the impact of Corona 19, as the number of incoming foreign workers has greatly decreased compared to foreign workers who leave the country due to the end of their stay, 9 out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises are in an emergency due to a manpower shortage.



The number of foreign workers in Korea decreased by 21% from 276,755 at the end of 2019 to 218,709 as of August this year.



With the introduction of the 52-hour work week, we need to hire more employees, but it has become difficult to even maintain the current level.



Last year, the entry of new foreign workers was suspended due to COVID-19, but currently only 6 of the 16 sending countries are entering the country, including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.



Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are requesting to expand the number of countries that allow entry to all 16 countries and extend the period of stay, which is currently 4 years and 10 months.



The government has shortened the re-entry restriction period for foreign workers from three months to one month, but additional measures can be expected only when the spread of corona in Southeast Asia subsides.



(Video editing: Kim Jun-hee)