[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Hwang Jongwoo: "Analyze Arctic Route Pilot Voyage Results, Prepare Next Year's Pilot Voyage"

First Parliamentary Audit Since Relocation to Busan
Panstar Acro Returns to Busan Port After Completing First Pilot Voyage Along the Arctic Route
Build a Comprehensive Support System, Including Timely Port Infrastructure Development and Training of Polar Specialists
Boost K-Seafood Competitiveness by Establishing a Seaweed Grading System and Dried Seaweed Exchange

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jongwoo said on October 12, "We will closely analyze the results of the Arctic route pilot voyage, accumulate relevant experience and data, and prepare a more thorough pilot voyage plan for next year."

At a parliamentary audit held that day at the ministry's temporary headquarters in Busan, Hwang said, "The Panstar Acro, which departed Busan Port on August 22, completed its historic 50-day pilot voyage along the Arctic route and returned to its home port of Busan on October 11." The audit is the first to be held since the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries relocated to Busan last year.

Hwang Jongwoo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries

"Since relocating to Busan at the end of last year, the ministry has been in closer communication with people in the field and has supported the relocation of the headquarters of four shipping companies to Busan. It has also achieved various results, including a 12% increase in seafood exports to $2.74 billion through September this year and a 52% increase in cruise tourists to 1.3 million," Hwang said. "With a sense of pride, responsibility, and commitment to leading Korea's future growth through the sea, the ministry is pursuing key strategies under the policy vision of 'A Major Leap Forward in the Arctic Route Era, Revitalizing the People's Economy, and Achieving Balanced Growth in Korea.'"

◆First Arctic Route Pilot Vessel Returns Safely... Comprehensive Support System to Be Established= In August this year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries launched a pilot voyage along the Arctic route, which provides the shortest connection between Asia and Europe. Using the Arctic route was expected to shorten the one-way journey by 7,000 km and about 10 days compared with the existing route through the Suez Canal. The Panstar Acro, the pilot vessel, had initially been scheduled to return around October 12. However, in view of the accelerating pace of ice formation, it increased speed in the Arctic Ocean section and safely docked at Jasungdae Pier at Busan North Port at around 8:24 a.m. on October 11, a day earlier than planned.

The ministry also plans to steadily establish a comprehensive support system needed to activate the Arctic route. "We will develop port infrastructure in a timely manner, train specialists in polar regions, and develop core technologies for icebreakers and ice-strengthened ships," Hwang said. "We will lay the groundwork for creating a maritime capital region that will become a new core economic hub in the Arctic route era, and accelerate the development of related industries in the Arctic route economic zone."

The Panstar Acro, deployed for the first pilot voyage along the Arctic Route. Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

◆Seaweed Grading System and Dried Seaweed Exchange to Be Established... Boosting the Competitiveness of K-Seafood= To strengthen the international competitiveness of K-seafood, the ministry plans to establish an artificial intelligence (AI)-based seaweed grading system and a dried seaweed exchange, while continuously identifying promising export products. Seaweed exports reached a record high of $1.13 billion last year. The ministry plans to introduce a dried seaweed grading system on a pilot basis next year to ensure transparent transactions and improve seaweed quality. It also plans to establish an international dried seaweed exchange next year, where seaweed graded under the system will be traded.

"In aquaculture, we will establish leading fisheries aquaculture zones and sequentially complete and operate smart aquaculture clusters to expand smart aquaculture," Hwang said. "We will create stable living conditions for fishermen by expanding eligibility for the fisheries direct payment scheme, expanding the operation of the Fishermen's Welfare Bus, and developing a benefit-sharing model for offshore wind power that gives priority to fishermen."

◆Coastal Passenger Ferry Public Service System to Begin Next Year= An amendment to the Shipping Act providing for a public service system for coastal passenger ferries passed the National Assembly plenary session in May this year. The ministry plans to make thorough preparations to ensure the system is implemented smoothly next year. "We will make the oceans and fisheries sector a catalyst for revitalizing the economies of coastal and fishing communities," Hwang said. "Starting with Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, we will work with local governments to develop tailored strategies to revitalize coastal economies in each region. We will ensure that ports and their hinterlands, fishing ports, and surrounding fishing communities become the foundation for new future growth engines and key hubs for regional development."

The ministry will upgrade safety management systems in the oceans and fisheries sector and strengthen the management of maritime territory. "We will ensure the mandatory wearing of life jackets by fishing vessel crew members, which took effect on July 1, is properly implemented in the field, while making every effort to improve working conditions and protect the human rights of all workers in the oceans and fisheries sector, including foreign workers," Hwang said. "To eradicate illegal fishing by foreign vessels, we substantially raised the maximum fines and security deposits in May and shifted our response principle from expulsion to seizure. We will also remove illegal fishing gear installed near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and strengthen cooperation between Korea and China in combating illegal fishing."

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