Busan City, Shipbuilding Industry, and Financial Sector Unite for Shipbuilding Industry Revival

Discussion Meeting on Shipbuilding Industry Issues to Be Held at Lotte Hotel Busan at 6 PM on the 16th

Mayor Park Requests Cooperation Between Shipbuilders and Equipment Companies for Mutual Growth

On the evening of the 16th, the city of Busan held a “Roundtable for Discussing Current Issues in the Shipbuilding Industry” at Lotte Hotel Busan at 6:00 PM.

Busan City held a meeting to discuss current issues in the shipbuilding industry.

This roundtable was organized to discuss cooperation and suggestions for the mutual development of the shipbuilding industry, which is a key industry in the Busan region, with representatives from large and mid-sized shipbuilders, shipbuilding equipment companies, and local business leaders.

A total of nine people attended, including Mayor Park Hyungjoon, Lee Sanggyun, CEO of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Choi Seongan, CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries (Chairman of the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association), Kim Jongseo, President of Hanwha Ocean, Yoo Sangcheol, CEO of HJ Shipbuilding & Construction, Choi Geumsik, Chairman of the Busan Marine Equipment Association, Shin Jungtaek, Chairman of Sewoon Steel (former Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Yang Jaesaeng, Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Bang Seongbin, President of BNK Busan Bank.

At the roundtable, the attending representatives pooled their wisdom to further advance the shipbuilding industry through mutual cooperation between large and mid-sized shipyards and shipbuilding equipment companies.

Mayor Park introduced various policies for the regional shipbuilding industry to the representatives and requested active cooperation between large and mid-sized shipbuilders and shipbuilding equipment companies for the mutual development of the shipbuilding industry.

The policies introduced by Mayor Park include: ▲ Establishment and operation of a joint shipbuilding equipment supply platform ▲ Support for hosting the International Offshore & Plant Exhibition ▲ Establishment of an R&D platform for eco-friendly hydrogen-fueled vessels ▲ Establishment of a multipurpose offshore demonstration platform.

Bang Seongbin, President of BNK Busan Bank, announced the launch of a financial support product worth 300 billion KRW for local shipbuilding and marine equipment companies, stating that local financial institutions will take the lead in revitalizing the regional shipbuilding industry and economy.

The financial support product to be launched is a special loan product, and the eligible recipients are member companies of the Busan Marine Equipment Association and small and medium-sized shipbuilding and marine equipment companies.

Choi Geumsik, Chairman of the Busan Marine Equipment Association, delivered suggestions to the representatives of large and mid-sized shipyards on behalf of shipbuilding equipment companies.

The suggestions were: ▲ After the construction of the “Eco-Friendly and Smart Ship R&D Cluster Center” to integrate more than 100 shipbuilding equipment company-affiliated research institutes, large and mid-sized shipyards are encouraged to actively consider moving in when units are offered ▲ Large and mid-sized shipyards are encouraged to actively consider participating with booths at the International Offshore & Plant Exhibition (Offshore Korea 2024) ▲ With the promotion of the “Joint Shipbuilding Equipment Supply Platform Establishment and Operation Project,” shipyards are encouraged to support joint supply by using the platform and sharing delivery information, for a total of three suggestions.

The representatives of the large and mid-sized shipyards responded that they would actively review and accept Chairman Choi’s suggestions as much as possible, and, as requested by Mayor Park, would actively cooperate for the mutual development of the shipbuilding industry.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon said, “I sincerely thank the large and mid-sized shipyards and shipbuilding equipment companies that have played a key role in the development of the regional shipbuilding industry despite difficult circumstances,” and added, “The city will continue to seek various solutions so that large and mid-sized shipyards and shipbuilding equipment companies can cooperate and enhance the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry.”