LG Chem Vice Chair Shin Hak-cheol (left) shakes hands with Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, after announcing humanitarian aid to India over its styrene gas leak in 2020
South Korea’s top chemicals maker LG Chem Ltd. said on Wednesday it will offer an additional 1.2 billion Indian rupees ($14.4 million) in humanitarian aid to villagers in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh, affected by a deadly gas leak at its plant in 2020.
LG will also establish a financial foundation in India to run a medical checkup center to continue to examine the health conditions of the affected people and expand the medical treatment coverage to 15 categories at designated hospitals.
The promises were announced during a meeting between LG Chem’s senior executives and Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, in his office on Tuesday.
“Even before the results of the ongoing court trial are out, we want to do our best to provide humanitarian support that can be of practical help to residents,” said LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol.
The meeting was attended by LG Chem Chief Financial Officer Cha Dong-seok and the firm’s petrochemical business division chief Noh Kuk-lae.
LG Chem Vice Chair Shin Hak-cheol
Separately, LG Chem executives met with residents of the villages affected by the gas leak.
The Korean company said its senior executives were visiting India to provide swift support to people suffering from economic difficulties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LG Chem said it will discuss with the Andhra Pradesh state government ways to offer its financial aid to some 5,000 households near its chemical plant.
LG POLYMERS INDIA
According to LG and the Indian government, a gas leak occurred in May 2020 at a styrene monomer storage tank at LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd. outside the east coast city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
The accident killed at least 12 people and emergency services rushed more than 300 people, mostly villagers living nearby, to hospitals on the day the gas leak occurred.
LG Chem’s petrochemical plant in Korea
LG Chem took over Hindustan Polymers and renamed it LG Polymers India (LGPI) in 1997.
The state government paid 375 million Indian rupees in compensation to the victims immediately after the accident, while LG Polymers has paid over 20 billion won ($14.4 million) in deposits as ordered by Indian authorities.
Civil and criminal trials are currently underway in India to determine the scope of LG’s responsibilities and compensation.
LG Polymers has participated in restoration activities in damaged areas, including providing food and hygiene products, donating drinking water and conducting water quality and soil tests.
About 5,000 people have so far received medical services at designated hospitals. In 2021, LG donated 80 tons of zeolite, a key material for air purification and oxygen supply, to the Andhra Pradesh state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PLANT RELOCATION TO SRI CITY
The operation of the LG Polymers plant has been halted since the accident.
LG Chem is seeking to promote eco-friendly businesses
With the state permit, LG Chem is in the middle of relocating to a new plant in Sri City, 780 km away from the affected factory.
With a new investment, the Korean company is soon expected to commence manufacturing engineering plastics compounds, called ABS, at the new plant with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons.
If necessary, LG plans to ramp up facilities at the new facility.
Its existing premises in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh will likely house machinery and other equipment for safe and eco-friendly businesses, it said.
LG Chem has maintained employees at its Indian polymer plant for the past four years and said those who wish to move to the new plant will be allowed to do so.
When hiring additional workers for the Sri City plant, LG plans to give preferential treatment to those from the Visakhapatnam region.
By Woo-Sub Kim
duter@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
