Recorded 11 Consecutive Months of Growth Since June Last Year
Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, hereinafter referred to as the Authority) announced that it is making every effort to revitalize Gwangyang Port by attracting regional cargo.
The Authority is promoting Gwangyang Port and conducting shipping line matching marketing targeting shippers and forwarders (international logistics brokers) near the Honam region, including Yeosu Industrial Complex, to recapture cargo that had been shipped through other ports due to service shortages after COVID-19.
In particular, in addition to existing marketing that highlights Gwangyang Port’s advantages such as lower logistics costs and longer free storage periods compared to other ports, the Authority is fully committed to reducing shippers’ logistics costs by analyzing the most suitable regular shipping service routes based on each shipper’s Port of Destination (POD) and promoting matching marketing with shipping lines.
As of last year, in the case of Company H, the Authority proposed a logistics cost reduction plan saving approximately 250,000 KRW per 1FEU in inland transportation fees by attracting cargo previously shipped through other ports to Gwangyang Port, resulting in an annual logistics cost reduction of about 2.5 billion KRW when attracting 10,000 FEUs. This year, a logistics cost reduction plan was proposed to Company L, saving about 400,000 KRW per 1FEU in inland transportation fees, which would reduce logistics costs by approximately 8 billion KRW annually when attracting 20,000 FEUs, thereby improving the export process.
Furthermore, since President Park Seong-hyun’s inauguration at the end of 2021, the Authority has actively supported the revitalization of Gwangyang Port and the export-import activities of shippers in the Honam region by conducting an average of about 120 “on-the-ground marketing” activities annually, successfully attracting 20 new regular container shipping services to date. It has been confirmed that these efforts have had a definite effect on reducing companies’ logistics costs.
Through these efforts, Gwangyang Port’s container throughput has recorded an increase for 11 consecutive months compared to the same month of the previous year since June 2023, with cumulative container throughput in May this year increasing by double digits, 10.3%, to 810,000 TEUs compared to the previous year.
In addition, leveraging Gwangyang Port’s advantages such as wide land area and deep water depth, the Authority has also focused on attracting automobile transshipment cargo. As a result, in April, the Authority achieved a cumulative automobile handling volume of 10 million units since its establishment (August 2011), and in May, the cumulative automobile handling volume reached 490,000 units, setting a record for the highest automobile cargo volume since the opening of Gwangyang Port.
President Park Seong-hyun stated, “Yeosu Gwangyang Port is the number one domestic export-import port that has grown alongside the economic development of the Republic of Korea.” He added, “We will do our best as all employees to attract vessels to support regional export-import shippers facing difficulties, so that customers can use Gwangyang Port more conveniently and safely.”
Meanwhile, the Authority is actively improving port usage inconveniences by operating a Corporate Customer Service (CS) team newly established within the Marketing Department of the Operations Headquarters to support export-import companies (shippers), along with the ‘One Shipping Line, One+ Route Attraction’ campaign.
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