(Unofficial Translation)

Fellow Koreans, residents of Jeollabuk-do Province, citizens of Gunsan, 

My heart is truly filled with emotions today. Governor Song Ha-jin and Mayor Kang Im-june might feel the same way. Gunsan has come to embrace a spring of recovery and a leap forward. It has been five years since Jeollabuk-do residents and Gunsan citizens launched a campaign to gather one million signatures to show support for reviving the Gunsan Shipyard. The Government resuscitated the Republic of Korea’s shipbuilding and shipping industries through a strategy of mutual benefit that links the two. For their part, Jeollabuk-do, the City of Gunsan, Hyundai Heavy Industries and the National Assembly have repeatedly engaged in consultations to reopen the Gunsan Shipyard.

All of those efforts are finally culminating today in this signing ceremony for the reoperation of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Gunsan Shipyard. I’d like to give a big round of applause to Hyundai Heavy Industries for choosing to reopen as well as to the heads of local governments and lawmakers who have spared no efforts. I extend my sincere gratitude to the people of this province and city for coming together to show support.

Jeollabuk-do residents, Gunsan citizens,

The Gunsan Shipyard was the driving force behind Gunsan’s flagship industry – shipbuilding. Approximately 5,000 workers have built a total of 85 ships, including super-sized crude oil carriers and large LPG carriers. The Shipyard was responsible for a quarter of Gunsan’s economy in cooperation with 86 suppliers and 62 equipment and materials companies.

Restarting the Gunsan Shipyard will revive the economies of Gunsan and the Jeollabuk-do region. Jobs will be restored, and suppliers as well as equipment and materials businesses will reopen. If operations return to full swing, its production inducement effects will reach up to 2 trillion won. It will greatly contribute to our shipbuilding industry’s competitiveness.

Now, our shipbuilding industry with its high value-added ship technology is jockeying to be No. 1 or No. 2 in the world against its rivals in terms of orders secured. The Gunsan Shipyard is an optimal shipyard equipped with Korea’s largest crane, a 1,650-ton Goliath, and a 700m-long dock, the longest in the nation. If additional spaces for shipbuilding are secured through the operation of the Gunsan Shipyard, our shipbuilding industry will become even more competitive when it comes to obtaining orders.

In particular, this shipyard is expected to play an enormous role in the production of eco-friendly ships. The global shipbuilding and shipping industries are rapidly shifting to eco-friendly vessels. If blocks for LNG- and LPG-fueled ships are produced at the Gunsan Shipyard, it will help further increase our global market share in eco-friendly ships where our competitiveness has a commanding lead.

Gunsan is already evolving into a mecca for electric vehicles; the Gunsan-type job program is filling the vacuum left by the GM Daewoo plant closure. The two major local labor unions, businesses and Gunsan citizens are together creating more than 1,700 jobs and pushing production of 110,000 electric vehicles.

The eco-friendly ship industry, along with that of electric vehicles, is a key future industry that will spearhead carbon neutrality. When Gunsan Shipyard’s operations become stable, Gunsan will firmly establish itself as a region leading Korea’s future industries.

Jeollabuk-do residents, Gunsan citizens,

The Government strived to revive Gunsan’s economy after operations at its shipyard were suspended. By designating Gunsan a special industrial crisis response zone and an employment crisis zone, we expanded financial support to shipbuilding-related suppliers and microbusiness owners. Efforts were made to keep as many skilled workers as possible by providing employment retention subsidies and helping retirees become reemployed. Roads, ports and other infrastructure were expanded in connection with the reclaimed land in Saemangeum, and new industries were nurtured – such as offshore solar photovoltaic power, offshore wind power and tourism – to supplement the regional economic base.

All available support will also be provided to normalize the Gunsan Shipyard. In cooperation with Jeollabuk-do and Gunsan, we will foster production and technical personnel, expand education allowances for trainees and offer special on-site training to secure a professional and skilled workforce – the most urgent task – and help ensure stable logistics. 

To support Gusan’s regional economy and the recovery of its shipbuilding industry, we will extend the April deadline on the industrial crisis zone designation until the shipyard returns to service.

Most of all, our competitiveness as the No. 1 shipbuilding powerhouse will be enhanced to steadfastly secure shipbuilding orders. We intend to help increase Korea’s global market share for eco-friendly ships from 64 percent last year to 75 percent by 2030. Key technologies for low-carbon ships such as LNG-powered vessels will become more sophisticated, and we will prepare for an era of such carbon-free ships as hydrogen- and ammonia-powered vessels.

The competitiveness of suppliers and equipment and materials companies will also be strengthened to establish an ecosystem that allows SMEs and large companies to advance together in mutually beneficial ways. Support will be provided to help them acquire all-encompassing technological prowess from designing and building to repairing and remodeling eco-friendly ships. We will help enhance the capabilities of small and medium-sized shipyards and equipment and materials companies through financing and marketing as well as export- and logistics-related assistance.

Fellow Koreans, Jeollabuk-do residents, Gunsan citizens,

Gunsan has encountered many crises since the opening of its port, but it has proudly turned crises into opportunities. The crises caused by the shutdown of the Gunsan Shipyard and the closure of the GM Daewoo plant here are also being surmounted by taking on new challenges. Now, Gunsan is taking the lead in new industries such as renewable energy and electric vehicles, and the Gunsan-type economic recovery project is becoming a national benchmark.

We will continue to join forces from here on out until Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Gunsan Shipyard returns to service next January. As a forward base for eco-friendly ships, Gunsan will stand tall once more. The reoperation of the Gunsan Shipyard will become the very symbol of the complete revival of our country’s shipbuilding industry.

I am very pleased to witness spring return to Gunsan before the end of my term. I hope that you will also remember that my Administration has worked together with you until the reopening of the Gunsan Shipyard. 

Thank you.