Busan: The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will begin interior construction of its new headquarters in Busan next month to complete its relocation by the end of this year, Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo announced. This move is described as a foundational step towards transforming the southern region into a global maritime hub.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the relocation to Busan, Korea's largest port city located about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was one of Lee Jae Myung's key election campaign promises. This initiative aims to develop Busan into a global maritime hub in light of the anticipated expansion of Arctic shipping routes. Currently, the ministry is situated in Sejong, the central administrative city, alongside other central government ministries.
The ministry plans to encourage local shipping companies to also relocate to Busan by offering incentives. Additionally, efforts are underway to establish a new maritime court and an investment corporation in the southeastern region of the city. Minister Chun will lead a government task force to prepare for the emerging Arctic shipping routes era, while also advocating for the formation of a public-private committee and a support organization for the project.
For the maritime industry, the ministry intends to push for an exemption from preliminary feasibility studies for the development of core technologies essential for creating autonomous ships powered by artificial intelligence. The global autonomous vessel market is projected to reach 350 trillion won (US$252 billion) by 2032, according to Chun.
Furthermore, the ministry plans to construct a test bed for smart port technologies in the southwestern port city of Gwangyang starting in November. They also aim to establish memorandums of understanding with Denmark and Singapore to cooperate on creating "green" shipping corridors, which are routes utilizing nature-friendly technologies and non-carbon fuels to emit zero carbon emissions.