The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Lee Chang-yang, held a conference with the CEOs of the top three shipbuilders meetings to discuss key issues and future goals for the South Korean shipyard. It happened on August 19.
The three shipbuilders represented at the conference are Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).
An important issue raised by the CEOs was the difficulty of finding quality human resources to take on projects. They requested that the Government support the process of training shipbuilding professionals and also improve the current system of employment of foreign workers.
In addition, they added the need to increase the maximum refund guarantee amid rising ship prices, as well as expand the application range of actual equipment and materials based on South Korean technology.
This year, the three companies have invested KRW 234 billion in the development of ammonia-fueled aircraft carriers, carbon capture devices, zero-carbon smart ship data platforms, and digital transformation technologies.
Future investments will continue to expand and will soon cover areas such as smart patios and green facilities, they said from the private sector.
Minister Lee conveyed that preventive and proactive investments are important for South Korea to maintain its large gap in shipyard competitiveness, saying that the government will focus on three main areas: personnel, technology and ecosystem.
An important issue raised by the CEOs was the difficulty of finding quality human resources to take on projects
For the hiring of specialized personnel, the Ministry will focus on the training of engineers and the modification of the current system of hiring foreign workers.
For technology, joint industry and government efforts will go into maintaining the super gap in low-carbon carriers like LNG carriers, while preemptively responding to the market for zero-carbon carriers and autonomous vessels.
Those present agreed that CO2 tankers and offshore wind infrastructure represent additional promising business prospects.
Samsung breaks ground on new semiconductor complex
For the local marine industry ecosystem, the digital transformation of the production line from the shipyard to the material supply is expected to help increase the productivity of the industry.
Those present also indicated that it is necessary to promote the competitiveness of SMEs and solve financing problems to effectively assimilate existing project requests. Finally, it is imperative to improve the engineering and R&D capacity of material and equipment companies to strengthen technical competitiveness.
Noting that comprehensive measures to advance Korea’s shipyard industry will be announced in the near future, the Minister stressed that corporations and the government must work together to make the most of the current tailwind.
Add Comment