According to the "Air Pollutant Emission Statistics" released by the National Institute of Environmental Research, road mobile pollution sources account for 14.5% of fine dust generation factors, while non-road mobile pollution sources account for 18.2%. This is largely due to ship fuel high-sulfur fuel oil, which contains up to 3,500 times more sulfur than automobile fuel.
Accordingly, since January 1 of this year, under the "Eco-friendly Ship Act (Act on the Development and Promotion of Eco-friendly Ships)," the government, local governments, public institutions, and local public enterprises are required to purchase eco-friendly ships for public vessels they operate. Various policies are being promoted to reduce air pollutants such as fine dust and greenhouse gases emitted from ships. As part of this effort, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been implementing the "Inland Water Electric Propulsion Boat Distribution Project" since last year, aiming to replace 1,000 inland water fishing boats with electric outboard motors by 2030.
The distribution of electric propulsion motors, coupled with the modernization of approximately 70,000 aging inland water and coastal fishing boats, is a project that prevents water pollution of fishing grounds caused by oil spills and reduces fuel costs. The government and local governments support 80% of the costs, attracting significant interest from fishermen.
In this regard, LGM Co., Ltd. was the first in Korea to distribute electric fishing boats in the Chuncheon and Sinan areas in 2016. Having verified safety through more than four years of field tests, the company is participating as the sole supplier in the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' "Inland Water Electric Propulsion Boat Distribution Project." Starting deliveries to Busan and Chungju in the second half of last year, LGM plans to expand distribution by holding promotional demonstration events regionally this year.
Won Jun-hee, CEO of LGM, stated, "Fishermen operating electric fishing boats supplied by our company are satisfied with the economic efficiency and convenience, enjoying electricity and maintenance costs reduced by 70-80% compared to traditional fuel costs. They especially appreciate the absence of oil smell, exhaust fumes, and noise, as well as the complete elimination of concerns about oil spill accidents in fishing grounds." He added, "The distribution of electric propulsion motors for fishing boats aligns with government policies to prevent marine air and water pollution. With increasing pressure from the WTO (World Trade Organization) to reduce fishery subsidies, making it difficult to provide tax-free fuel subsidies amounting to 700 billion KRW annually, converting tax-free fuel subsidies into eco-friendly ship support funds could enable government policies to take effect more rapidly."
Furthermore, LGM announced plans to enter the overseas fishing boat market based on stable domestic sales through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' electric fishing boat distribution project. CEO Won emphasized, "Policy changes similar to Korea's Eco-friendly Ship Act are underway worldwide. In particular, China reportedly has 1.06 million registered fishing boats and 600,000 unregistered ones. In 5A-class tourist areas, internal combustion engine vessels are completely banned, and the distribution of electric propulsion vessels is expected to progress rapidly. However, there are currently no notable related companies, leading to a surge in export requests. We anticipate significant sales growth this year."
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