Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will review measures to help the petrochemical industry as it faces difficulties amid U.S sanctions on Iran and U.S.-China trade tensions.

Meeting with industry officials in Ulsan on Thursday, the finance chief said the government has been working on ways to support petrochemical firms for the past two to three months as it prepares to announce economic policy guidelines for the second half of the year. 

He said that discussions are under way with related agencies on the challenges cited by the industry including difficulties in purchasing land and securing water for industrial use for factories.

Hong added there has been considerable progress and the government firmly believes the global competitiveness of the sector must be strengthened.

Petrochemical businesses had requested government support for infrastructure saying existing facilities have reached saturation or are outdated.