Guaranteeing Equal Recommendation Rights for Port Committee Members and Changing the Authority Name
A revision bill has been proposed to change Busan Port Authority, which is managing the construction of Jinhae New Port scheduled for the first half of this year, to ‘Busan Gyeongnam Port Authority’ and to equalize the number of recommendation committee members between Busan and Gyeongnam.
Lee Jong-wook, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party representing Changwon Jinhae District, announced on the 5th that he has taken the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the Port Authority Act to resolve the 21-year unresolved issue of changing the name of Busan Port Authority and normalizing the recommendation rights for port committee members.
The proposed bill includes provisions that if the jurisdiction of a port authority spans two or more special cities, metropolitan cities, or provinces, the name of the port authority must include the administrative districts of all relevant local governments.
It also includes that the recommendation of port committee members, who review and decide on port business and operation plans, budgets, etc., should be equally made by adjacent special cities, metropolitan cities, or provinces.
Aerial view of Jinhae New Port (left) and Busan New Port. Provided by Gyeongnam Provincial Government
Rep. Lee emphasized, “Although Jinhae New Port is being constructed across two metropolitan local governments, Busan and Gyeongnam, the name of the port authority responsible for port development has been maintained as Busan Port Authority since 2004, omitting Gyeongnam,” and stressed the need to change the name to ‘Busan Gyeongnam Port Authority.’
He cited as evidence that as of the end of last year, 86.3% of the Busan Port New Port’s hinterland complex is located in Gyeongnam, and by 2032, more than half of the 47 berths at the New Port, 24 berths, will be at Jinhae New Port.
Regarding the recommendation of port committee members, he explained that the Enforcement Decree of the Port Authority Act only stipulates that up to three port committee members can be recommended, but currently, since the establishment of the authority in 2004, the recommendation ratio has been maintained as two from Busan and one from Gyeongnam without clear grounds.
He also pointed out that in a survey conducted in March last year with 1,000 residents of the province, 81.5% responded that a name change was necessary, 88.1% agreed with equal numbers of port committee members, and 85.9% said that the name change and equal recommendation of port committee members should be pursued before the groundbreaking ceremony of Jinhae New Port.
Jinhae New Port, to be built in Jinhae District, Changwon City, Gyeongnam, is planned to consist of 21 berths for 25,000 TEU container ships and a hinterland complex, with a total project cost of 15.1 trillion KRW.
In the first phase, nine berths will open by 2031, and all 21 berths will be newly constructed by 2040.
Earlier, in July last year, Gyeongnam Province met with Rep. Lee to emphasize the necessity of the law revision and requested him to take the lead in proposing it.
The bill was proposed by a total of 11 People Power Party members, including Rep. Lee and other representatives from Gyeongnam constituencies such as Kim Jong-yang, Park Dae-chul, Seo Cheon-ho, Yoon Young-seok, and Yoon Han-hong.
The province projected that upon completion of Jinhae New Port, it would generate a production inducement effect of 9.2603 trillion KRW, a value-added inducement effect of 3.667 trillion KRW, and an employment inducement effect of 55,990 jobs.
It is also expected that when about 120 related companies move into the port and hinterland complex, there will be an annual local tax revenue effect of approximately 7 billion KRW and the creation of about 6,700 jobs.
Rep. Lee said, “At the National Assembly audit in October 2023, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries announced plans to pursue the name change and grant equal recommendation rights for port committee members by local governments,” adding, “Residents and related organizations also say it is common sense for Busan and Gyeongnam to exercise equal recommendation rights in the composition of the port committee, which holds the highest decision-making authority related to port development and operation.”
He added, “We will improve the imbalance in the port committee with the groundbreaking of Jinhae New Port,” and “We will ensure that the opinions of Jinhae residents and Gyeongnam residents are sufficiently reflected from the construction stage.”
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