Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority Selected for 'Top 10 Achievements of 2023'

Selected as Best Port in the Sustainable Awards Category, etc.

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, hereinafter referred to as the Authority) announced on the 27th that it has selected the top 10 core achievements of this year.

The first core achievement is being selected as the Best Port in two categories (Environment, Safety) at the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) Sustainability Awards.

[Photo by Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority]

As a result of continuous efforts to purify the marine environment and strengthen port safety networks, such as establishing a marine plastic waste resource circulation system and CEO-led safety inspections, the Authority overcame a 25 to 1 competition ratio in an international award involving about 150 ports and achieved the distinction of being the first domestic port to win simultaneously in two categories.

The second achievement is ‘Proving the Safety of Yeosu Gwangyang Port.’ To meet the public’s expectations and demands for safety, the Authority strengthened safety management by increasing the safety budget and recruiting personnel, achieving an accident-free port. It also earned excellent results by achieving the triple crown in government-led safety evaluations (Safety Activity Level Evaluation, Disaster Management Evaluation), including the highest safety management grade awarded by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The third is ‘Realizing ESG Management that Approaches the Local Community.’ The Authority was recognized for its leading efforts to solve local community issues, such as installing CCTV for crime prevention and safety facilities to prevent residential fires, achieving the highest grade as a ‘Community Contribution Recognized Company’ and winning the ‘Best Award in Public Safety Governance’ at the Korea Crime Prevention Awards.

Additionally, the CEO’s commitment and efforts toward regional co-prosperity and sustainable management were reflected in achievements such as ranking first in the public institution ESG evaluation among a total of 362 organizations.

Other top 10 core achievements include maintaining a ‘B grade’ for five consecutive years in public institution management evaluations, achieving the highest sales since the Authority’s establishment at 150 billion KRW, attracting eight new container cargo services, handling 1.1 million vehicles in automobile cargo volume?a 19% increase from the previous year?attracting four new companies to the hinterland complex and increasing generated cargo volume by 90,000 TEU, successfully transferring the exhibition hall and reducing costs by 168.1 billion KRW, and achieving an ‘Excellent Grade’ for two consecutive years in the public institution customer satisfaction survey.

Throughout 2023, YGPA received high external recognition by winning a total of 29 awards and certifications, including the Small and Medium Enterprise Co-Growth Merit Award (Ministry of SMEs and Startups), the Korea Sustainable Management Grand Prize in the Environment category (Korean Academic Society of Business Administration), the CEO Public Sector Service Excellence Award (Service Management Society), the 16th Korea Communication Awards Public Sector Communication Grand Prize (Korea Internet Communication Association), and the Global Quality Management Leader Award (Korean Society for Quality Management), along with certifications from government ministries including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and various international organizations.

President Park Seong-hyun said, “By selecting the top 10 core achievements of 2023, we look back on the year at Yeosu Gwangyang Port and will strive even harder in 2024 to produce results that the public can feel, as the nation’s number one port in import and export cargo volume.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr