President Lee Jae-myung visited Busan on Tuesday and announced that the government will promote the shipping and port industries as national strategic industries, vowing to "accelerate Korea's leap toward becoming a maritime powerhouse, a dream envisioned by President Kim Young-sam." The government presented Arctic route development and the cultivation of a southern marine capital region as core pillars, unveiling a concrete roadmap to open a regular Korea-Europe service route by 2030, beginning with a Busan-Rotterdam round-trip pilot voyage in the second half of this year.
Speaking at the 31st Sea Day commemoration ceremony held at Korea Maritime & Ocean University in Busan's Yeongdo District, President Lee said, "The launch of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries under the Kim Young-sam administration in 1996 was a powerful expression of the will to elevate Korea into a maritime power." He added, "The People's Sovereignty Government will lead a new maritime order."
The government plans to nurture the shipping industry not as a mere logistics sector but as a core strategic industry underpinning the national economy and security. The move reflects the growing strategic importance of maritime logistics amid the recent Middle East conflict, risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and the realignment of global supply chains.
"We will accelerate the recovery of the global shipping supply chain and build a shipping supply chain that we can fully control with our own hands," President Lee said. "We will also build an ecosystem for the mutual development of shipping and shipbuilding and broadly cultivate marine insurance, ship financing, and shipping service industries." He also stressed that "the southern marine capital region is not simply a matter of developing a specific area," calling it "a survival strategy for Korea and at the same time the core of a balanced growth strategy that directly links the maritime power vision to jobs and regional vitality."
Referring to his presidential campaign pledge to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan, President Lee promised, "We will swiftly establish the maritime court, for which legislation has been completed, along with shipping companies and related public institutions, and rapidly complete a marine cluster that includes the Southeastern Investment Corporation as soon as National Assembly discussions conclude."
In a public report on the same day, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Hwang Jong-woo unveiled plans for the relocation of corporations and public institutions. "Following HMM, we will additionally attract shipping and logistics companies and begin the relocation of marine and fisheries public institutions starting next year," Minister Hwang said. "We will establish the Southeastern Investment Corporation in 2027 and the Maritime International Commercial Court in 2028."
As the first step in pioneering Arctic routes, a Busan-Rotterdam round-trip pilot voyage will commence in the second half of this year. "Starting with the Busan-Rotterdam pilot voyage, we will open a regular Korea-Europe service route by 2030," Minister Hwang said. "We will expand the national icebreaker fleet, train polar specialists, develop the new Jinhae Port, and build eco-friendly fuel infrastructure." The government also plans to nurture Busan as an Asian logistics hub by attracting multimodal cargo and developing a 'tri-port' linkage connecting ports, airports, and railways.
Minister Hwang compared the southern marine capital region strategy to the Singapore model. "Singapore, which sits along two international trunk shipping routes, has seen its population grow 74% and GDP increase 6.5-fold over the past 30 years through deregulation, corporate attraction, and the cultivation of high-value-added related industries," he explained. "The southeastern region borders three international trunk routes including the Arctic route, opening up an even greater future."
The industrial strategy was also presented in greater detail. The government plans to secure a "super gap" in autonomous and eco-friendly vessel sectors through K-shipping and shipbuilding cooperation and preempt future markets. It will also nurture knowledge industries such as marine finance and maritime law, and expand ship maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and eco-friendly bunkering industries.
Region-specific strategies for Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam were also presented. "Busan will become an international marine finance and business hub integrating administrative, judicial, economic, and financial functions; Ulsan will be an eco-friendly energy hub responding to future fuel transitions; and Gyeongnam will become the core of an advanced marine ecosystem combining ports, logistics, manufacturing, and AI," Minister Hwang said.
The southern marine capital region strategy also includes plans for nurturing young talent and improving settlement conditions. The government plans to connect the southeastern region into a "one-hour living zone" through wide-area transportation networks and expand housing, education, and cultural infrastructure to improve settlement conditions. The Korea Shipowners' Association, the public foundation Bada-ui-Pum, and HMM signed a "business agreement for nurturing future talent" together with Korea Maritime & Ocean University and Mokpo National Maritime University. Twenty-eight shipping companies including HMM will provide 5 billion won each, totaling 10 billion won, to the two national maritime universities, while establishing employment-linked contract departments to expand the inflow of young talent.
