SK Ocean Plant Ultimately Sold to Private Equity Fund... What’s Next for the Goseong Opportunity Development Special Zone?

SK Ocean Plant, a company specializing in offshore wind power, shipbuilding, and plant construction with operations in Goseong-gun, Gyeongnam, has ultimately been sold to a private equity fund despite strong opposition from the regional community, including Gyeongsangnam-do and Goseong-gun.

On August 31, after market close, SK Ocean Plant announced that its largest shareholder, SK ecoplant, will sell its entire stake—22,256,969 shares, representing 35.62% of total common shares—to The Ocean Asset Management for 410 billion won.

The Ocean Asset Management is a newly established private equity fund formed by close associates of former STX Group Chairman Kang Duksoo. On this day, the fund signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of SK Ocean Plant shares from its parent company, SK ecoplant.

With this share sale, The Ocean Asset Management has become the largest shareholder of SK Ocean Plant. The fund plans to complete the acquisition process within the year by forming a consortium with Osung Advanced Materials as a co-investor.

A view of the offshore wind substructure manufactured at the SK Ocean Plant yard located in Goseong County, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by SK Ocean Plant]

SK Ocean Plant is currently investing 1 trillion won to build the world’s largest offshore wind substructure production base across the Yangchon and Yongjeong Industrial Complexes in Donghae-myeon, Goseong-gun.

The land designated for the offshore wind specialized production base was classified as the first Opportunity Development Special Zone in Gyeongnam in June of last year.

During this period, Gyeongsangnam-do and Goseong-gun actively supported the project by easing regulations such as lifting restrictions on fisheries resource protection zones and permitting mountain area conversions, as well as by expanding and improving National Road No. 77, constructing access roads into the special zone, supporting job-linked housing projects, and facilitating various permits and approvals.

SK ecoplant, the parent company, acquired Samkang M&T in September 2022 and rebranded it to SK Ocean Plant. Only three years after the rebranding, it has moved to sell its stake, announcing that it had selected ‘The Ocean Consortium,’ a newly established private equity fund manager founded in 2024.

As a result, Gyeongsangnam-do and Goseong-gun have opposed the sale, expressing concerns that the divestment of SK Ocean Plant could hinder the ongoing development of the Yangchon and Yongcheon general industrial complex projects, which have been designated as Opportunity Development Special Zones.

If the sale of SK Ocean Plant becomes a reality, it could seriously affect the local economy, with uncertainties regarding the succession of employee contracts, maintenance of agreements with partner companies, potential setbacks in additional investments—including 500 billion won worth of superstructure facilities—and even the possible cancellation of the special zone status.

Furthermore, local officials have criticized the decision, noting that selling the company only three years after the acquisition undermines trust with the community. They have also pointed out suspicions that the sale is intended to recover the entire investment, such as the 500 billion won spent on industrial land development.

Following the share purchase agreement, The Ocean Asset Management has unveiled a blueprint to expand the Goseong No. 3 Yard, scale up large offshore wind and ship block factories, and introduce advanced automation lines, aiming to grow SK Ocean Plant into a leading company for offshore wind and shipbuilding.

The fund has also expressed its intention to contribute to the local community by prioritizing local talent in recruitment, running vocational training programs such as a shipbuilding technology academy, and prioritizing business with regional partner companies.

However, the Goseong-gun local government stated that SK Ocean Plant decided on the sale without reaching consensus with the community on coexistence strategies, despite ongoing concerns. They also announced that they are considering revoking the area’s designation as an Opportunity Development Special Zone.

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