- Announcement of 6 strategies and 24 key initiatives with the goal to secure new growth engines and to create resident-friendly islands and coasts across Korea -

 

< A solid and robust marine industry: Grow 4 major strategic marine sectors to secure new growth engines for Korea >   ① Enhancing Korea's international logistics sector in light of the chaning global logistics supply chain ㅇ Up-scale the national shipping capacity by 24% and invest KRW 3 trillion to ensure a safety net for Korean shipping businesses ㅇ Build a smart mega-port at Busan Port and attract KRW 1.4 trillion in private investments to develop port hinterland support complexes   ② Industrialize blue food exports in the wake of record-high seafood product exports ㅇ Foster laver and tuna as "USD 1 billion export star foods" and increase exports of oysters, abalone, fish cakes, and salmon to join the "USD 100 million export club" ㅇ Create smart aquafarm clusters and develop 100 exporters to reach USD 10 million in export revenues   ③ Become a leader in global marine mobility, a market expected to grow to KRW 741 trillion by 2030 ㅇ Secure super-gap technologies in autonomous vessels, eco-friendly vessels, and digital maritime transportation networks ㅇ Increase Korea's contribution to the global community to take the lead and set international standards in technology, materials, parts, and equipment   ④ Energize regional economies by revitalizing the marine leisure and tourism sector ㅇ Create marine leisure cities (the Cancun of Korea) and K-Marina routes ㅇ Create a Southern coast marine leisure tourism belt and develop top destinations within Northeast Asia   < Safe and sound living conditions: Creating islands and coasts safe and suitable for living >   ⑤ Bringing happiness to the underprivileged and underdeveloped areas on islands and in coastal regions ㅇ Zeroing in on islands (40) with no passenger ship operations and providing support to cover courier surcharges for island region deliveries ㅇ Invest KRW 3 trillion in building infrastructure to support local economies, residential conditions, and safety of fishing villages   ⑥ Protect coastal regions from natural disasters, which make up 40% of all national disasters ㅇ Implement “K-Ocean Watch” to ensure disaster response within the “golden time” ㅇ Build ports that are safe from once-in-a-century disasters with the "National Safe Coast" program

 

□ The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister: CHO Seung-Hwan) announced its 2023 Work Plan report on January 4th (Wednesday) 2023.

 

ㅇ The world economy currently faces a complex crisis arising from a combination of inflation and economic recession, while a changing global supply chain challenges us with additional uncertainty.

 

ㅇ Meanwhile, the digital transformation led by the fourth wave of the industrial revolution technologies and environmental regulations aimed at carbon neutrality are posing new challenges to all sectors of the economy.

 

□ Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has drafted and announced its 2023 Work Plan, consisting of 2 main pillars, 6 strategies, and 24 key initiatives, under the theme of “Innovate the Maritime Sector, Advance Korea” with the objective of overcoming such challenges and helping Korea leap forward towards a stronger future.

 

ㅇ First, all fields of the marine sector will undergo transformation to industrialize exports and usher in future technologies. More specifically, ① the international logistics sector will be upgraded to secure the upper hand in global competition, ② blue food is to be developed to promote exports, ③ a competitive edge is to be secured in the global marine mobility sector, while ④ revitalizing the marine leisure tourism sector.

 

ㅇ Moreover, the role of the government shall be enhanced to stabilize the living conditions and ensure security for the Korean people. To this end, ⑤ islands and coastal regions will be developed to better serve their residents, while ⑥ responses to climate change are to be improved while creating disaster-safe coastal regions.

 

【Highlights of the Departmental Report 】

 

1. Enhancing the global competitive edge of Korea's international logistics sector

 

□ Introducing "safety nets for shipping businesses" of up to KRW 3 trillion, to prepare against future economic downturns

 

ㅇThe government will introduce a “Crisis Response Fund“ of up to KRW 1 trillion to support the restructuring of national shipping firms, with KRW 250 billion channeled to small and medium-sized firms by drastically discounting the investment rate and guarantee fee rate while an Emergency Business Stabilization Fund (KRW 50 billion) is set up to provide timely support in times of crisis.

 

ㅇ Furthermore, a ship rental business is to be implemented where the Korea Ocean Business Corporation will invest KRW 1.7 trillion to purchase the surplus vessels of shipping firms and lease them back to shipping firms in order to prevent shipping firms selling off their surplus ships overseas at cheap prices.

 

□ Expand the shipping sector growth base to support Korea’s export-driven economy

 

ㅇ Increase the remote sea shipping capacity of national shipping firms from their current 1.05 million TEU to 1.10 million TEU by 2023 and 1.30 million TEU by 2027, to strengthen national shipping capacity.

 

ㅇ Expand the eligibility criteria for the outstanding shipping firm certification program to include firms with non-regular vessels from the previous scope of regular liners to build on mutually cooperative relationships between shipping and cargo firms, and support the pilot program for long-term transportation agreements between shipping firms and cargo associations between the different sectors.

 

□ Stimulate the market function of the shipping sector.

 

ㅇ Relevant plans are to be drafted by H2 2023 to promote and facilitate private investment in Vessel Funds, which are primarily maintained by public investments.

 

ㅇ Jointly initiate the consulting process with relevant institutions in the wake of the business normalization of HMM, including the feasibility review of the sale of business rights and analysis of potential candidates for acquisition.

 

□ Build world-class smart mega-ports.

 

ㅇ Start the full-fledged development of Busan New Port and Jinhae New Port as smart mega-ports to improve cargo processing speed by 35%, while reviewing infrastructure expansion plans, including connecting transportation networks and hinterland support complexes, to ensure the proper operations of Tri-ports once the Gadeokdo New Airport opens for business.

 

ㅇ Incheon New Port and Gwangyang Port will also be transformed into fully automated ports by 2026.

 

□ Private investment of KRW 1.4 trillion is to be attracted for the development of port hinterland support complexes, which are to be created as consolidated industrial spaces.

 

ㅇ Port hinterland support complexes, equivalent to 10.8x the size of Yeouido, are to be developed and opened by 2030. Smart joint logistics centers are to be constructed at the ports of Busan and Incheon.

 

ㅇ The consolidated regulations, such as those on sectors allowed to enter the hinterland complexes, are to be drastically revised, while incentives are to be offered for returning businesses, to attract global companies and returning firms.

 

□ Secure the global logistics supply chain to improve competition in exports.

 

ㅇ Secure additional terminals and joint logistics centers in the US and Southeast Asia, while providing support to Korean businesses to win tenders for marine and port projects in the Middle East, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

 

2. Developing the For-Export Blue Food Sector

 

□ Build massive smart aquafarm clusters in six locations across Korea.

 

ㅇ Establish test bed sites where companies, local universities, and young entrepreneurs can come together to develop and test technologies, backed by a concentrated number of related industries in logistics and processing.

 

□ Implement a cold chain system for the supply of fresh and hygienic seafood products.

 

ㅇ Maintain a low-temperature environment throughout the end-to-end distribution process in 100 old wholesale marketplaces by introducing eco-friendly and smart wholesale market operating systems that support hygienic processing.

 

□ Develop processed food in consideration of consumption trends and relevant processing infrastructure.

 

ㅇ Develop high value-added food products, including home meal replacements and room-temperature distributed food (fish cakes) as well as future food technologies, including alternative seafood and aquatic cultured meat, which continue to garner public interest backed by trends in value-based consumption.

ㅇ Build large-scale seafood clusters (Mokpo, Busan) and a IoT-based consolidated smart processing complex (Saemangeum) and designate three locations as laver sector promotion areas by February 2023.

 

□ Grow 100 blue food exporters that can deliver USD 10 million in exports.

 

ㅇ Offer up to KRW 220 million Growth Ladder Vouchers to each domestic firm to support market surveys, brand development, and acquisition of international certifications, to help them grow into global exporters.

 

ㅇ Expand the number of Overseas Joint Logistics Centers, currently operated in 23 nations to support Korean exporters, to 25 nations, and launch the “Seafood Export United Team,” consisting of the Fisheries Cooperative, Korea Fishery Trade Association, Korea Fisheries Association, and Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, led by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, to help exporters resolve the difficulties related to overseas market entry.

 

□ Strengthen focused and connected marketing to expand blue food exports.

 

ㅇ Operate exclusive sales zones on famous international online malls and hold ‘K-Seafood Global Week’ during shopping festivals, such as Black Friday in the US and Single’s Day in China.

 

ㅇ With the Korean Wave as the central theme, collaborate via joint projects with relevant Ministries to enhance connected marketing with other consumer goods, such as cosmetics, medicine, and fashion apparel.

 

□ Improve international cooperation under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program to export Korea’s smart and eco-friendly aquaculture technologies.

 

ㅇ Leverage the success of the eco-friendly Shrimp Biofloc* aquaculture technology ODA program conducted in the Sahara desert of Algeria to expand the program to other deserts or tropical regions, including those in the Middle East.

 

* An eco-friendly culture technology using microorganisms based on the concept of the microorganism population increasing as they feed on fish excreta, after which the fish once again feed on the increased microbes

 

ㅇ Carry out smart eco-friendly aquaculture technology ODA programs customized for each recipient nation, including shellfish for Vietnam and Napoleon fish for Indonesia.

 

3. Securing a competitive edge in marine mobility

 

□ Securing global super-gap technologies in marine mobility.

 

ㅇ Invest approximately KRW 1.3 trillion in the development of marine mobility technologies, including autonomous vessels, eco-friendly vessels, ultra-precision satellite-based navigation, and digital maritime transportation networks, by 2032.

 

□ Set international standards in digital eco-friendly technologies, materials, parts, and equipment.

 

ㅇ As the commercialization of marine mobility technologies require their standardization by UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), Korea should enhance its technological cooperation with international organizations and ODA programs in developing nations to lead discussions in international standards.

 

□ Increasing support for early commercialization of new marine mobility technologies and the development of relevant industries.

 

ㅇ Facilitate commercialization with regulatory reform, such as by allowing pilot operations of new technology vessels and special exceptions related to their certification and approval and by reducing the time required for the certification process by 1 year with the simplification of the certification process for equipment facilities.

 

ㅇ Support the vitality of the eco-friendly ship market by providing construction subsidies (10~30% of the ship value) and other financial benefits.

 

4. Stimulate the marine leisure tourism industry to increase the vitality of the regional economy

 

□ Creating marine leisure cities (the Cancun of Korea) and K-Marina routes.

 

ㅇ Promote the creation of consolidated marine leisure tourism cities (the Cancun of Korea) equipped with diverse activities, sights, marine transportation, as well as food and drinks.

 

ㅇ Build and expand large-scale marinas in key coastal locations to support marine leisure activities, and build sea stations on islands that function as service areas to create K-Marina routes.

 

□ Developing marine tourism sectors for the mutual growth of businesses and local regions.

 

ㅇ Build marina industry clusters in connection with marina business centers to promote the development of the yacht and boat manufacturing sector.

 

ㅇ Diversify the content offerings of the marine leisure tourism sector by leveraging marine resources, such as marine ecology or healing, or by utilizing marine leisure culture, such as fishing.

 

□ Building a marine leisure tourism hub of Northeast Asia.

 

ㅇ Develop the Southern coast region into a marine leisure tourism belt and build upon Korea’s brand as a major Northeast Asia destination, as Korea plans to celebrate the reopening of its ports for cruise vessels in March 2023.

 

5. Creating habitable islands and coastal regions

 

□ Supporting transportation and essential life logistics services for residents of neglected islands.

 

ㅇ Zeroing in on the number of remote islands (40) that do not operate passenger ship services and increasing support for routes that are on the verge of service termination to guarantee the basic right to transportation for island residents, who have been neglected to date by national policies.

 

ㅇ Introducing a government subsidy of KRW 6.5 billion to reduce the ‘courier surcharge (average KRW 5,000 per delivery)’ previously paid by island residents to cover the transportation costs of courier vehicles.

 

□ Implementing income safety nets for low-income residents in fishing villages.

 

ㅇ A new direct subsidy program is to be introduced for small fishing households or fishermen, who have previously been excluded from the direct subsidy for providers of public benefits, where KRW 1.2 million is to be provided for each household per annum.

 

ㅇ Readjust the subsidies for fishing village care activities and pensions and provide medical checks specialized for the female fishing population.

 

□ Supplying infrastructure to improve vitality and ensure sustainable growth in fishing villages.

 

ㅇ A total of KRW 3 trillion is to be investment over the next 5 years (2023~2027) to improve overall fishing village infrastructure for local economy (distribution, processing, and sales of seafood products, tourism), accomodation (remodeling of empty houses, healthcare services), and safety (breakwaters).

 

6. Responding to climate change and creating disaster-safe coasts

 

□ Introducing “K-Ocean Watch," a coastal disaster warning system.

 

ㅇWith the goal to secure coastal disaster responses within the “golden time,“ the Ministry will initiate a preliminary feasibility study for the implementation of “K-Ocean Watch,“ an early warning system for coastal disasters that accurately monitors and predicts marine changes in real time. The implementation of “K-Ocean Watch" is expected to drastically reduce the prediction frequency from 3 hours to 30 minutes.

 

□ Fully equip ports and coastal regions with disaster safety facilities.

 

ㅇ A “National Safety Coast” pilot program (2 locations) will be initiated, where coastal safety facilities are to be improved with maintenance for vulnerable sites to ensure ports that are safe from once-in-a-century disasters, while securing disaster buffer zones in high-risk coasts that can be used as eco-friendly parks.

 

□ Building a futuristic coastal disaster response system.

 

ㅇ Build a “Coastal Big Data Platform” by 2024 to consolidate dispersed maritime data on coastal oceans and disasters through collaboration between the private and public sectors.

 

ㅇ Develop coastal development technologies that are adaptive to climate change, such as the installation of breakwater structures based on oyster shells and use of tidal flat plants, with programs to test their effectiveness along he Western and Southern coasts.