Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Unite as a Marine Capital Region... Joint Investment Drive Begins

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang, and Regional Chambers Sign Mutual Growth Agreement

Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province are coming together to form a unified maritime economic bloc in anticipation of the Arctic shipping route era.

The Busan Metropolitan Government (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo) announced on August 12 that it will sign a "Mutual Growth Agreement for Establishing and Promoting Joint Investment Attraction in the Southeastern Marine Capital Region" on August 13 at Komodo Hotel Busan in Jung-gu. The agreement will be signed with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ulsan Metropolitan Government, South Gyeongsang Provincial Government, and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province.

Attendees at the signing ceremony include Jeon Jae-soo, Mayor of Busan; Hwang Jongwoo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries; Kim Sangwook, Mayor of Ulsan; Park Wansu, Governor of South Gyeongsang Province; and the presidents of the Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Chambers of Commerce and Industry. This event will serve to officially declare the resolve of central and local governments, as well as the business community, to foster the Southeastern region as a single maritime economic bloc and to pursue joint investment attraction efforts.

This agreement is a follow-up measure to the "Southern Marine Capital Region Development Direction" announced by the government in May. This is the first time a large-scale cooperative framework involving the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the local governments of Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang, as well as the chambers of commerce from all three regions, is being established.

Going forward, the participating organizations will join forces to establish the Southeastern Marine Capital Region and develop joint investment strategies. They will also collaborate to nurture future growth industries, including marine and related industries, Manufacturing AI (M.AX), and digital transformation (DX), and to improve regulations and systems that hinder investment attraction. The parties also plan to jointly host domestic and international investment roadshows (IR), build a global investment attraction network, and promote the Southeastern Marine Capital Region together.

The core focus of this agreement is to connect Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province into a single maritime economic zone that can adapt to the Arctic shipping route era. The initiative aims to link marine administration, ports and logistics, manufacturing, energy, finance, and research and development (R&D) into one industrial ecosystem and foster the Southeastern region as a new growth axis for Korea’s maritime industry.

After the agreement, the city will actively pursue investment attraction strategies in collaboration with the regional chambers of commerce. Plans include holding Southeastern regional investment workshops for domestic and international companies and expanding joint investment attraction activities.

Through these efforts, the goal is to create an environment that encourages global companies to invest in the Southeastern region and to establish an investment foundation where the maritime industry, manufacturing, energy, finance, and R&D are interconnected.

Jeon Jae-soo, Mayor of Busan, stated, "This agreement marks an important starting point for Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province to grow together as a unified maritime economic bloc. Central and local governments, together with the business community, will closely cooperate to develop the Southeastern region into Korea’s leading marine capital in the Arctic shipping route era and make it a hub of investment for global companies."

Busan City Hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.