Busan Metropolitan City Government Builds Marine MRO and Ship Repair Ecosystem...Forum Held at the National Assembly

[Financial News] Busan Metropolitan City Government is accelerating efforts to build a cluster for naval maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industries. As the global marine MRO market continues to grow, the city aims to seize a larger share of the market by leveraging Busan's strengths in shipbuilding equipment and port infrastructure.
The city said on the 31st that a National Assembly forum titled "Building a Marine MRO and Ship Repair Cluster to Open the MASGA Era" will be held on September 3 at 1:30 p.m. in the small auditorium of the National Assembly Library of the Republic of Korea.
The forum is co-hosted by the city, the office of lawmaker Song Ok-joo, and Hanwha Ocean, and is sponsored by the Korea Shipowners' Association.
More than 70 people, including officials from the National Assembly, relevant central government ministries, Busan Metropolitan City Government, Hanwha Ocean, the Busan Shipbuilding and Marine Equipment Cooperative, and experts from industry and research institutions, will attend the event to discuss Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation as the MASGA project gains momentum, as well as ways to expand cooperation on naval maintenance, repair, and overhaul with the Trump administration.
South Korea has world-class shipbuilding capabilities, but it still lacks specialized infrastructure for repairing large vessels.
Busan Metropolitan City Government plans to explore policy directions for building a marine MRO and ship repair cluster based on Busan's strengths in shipbuilding equipment and port infrastructure. It also plans to discuss the need for national-level infrastructure expansion and policy, legislative, and budget support.
The forum will begin with an opening ceremony, followed by presentations on marine MRO and ship repair, and then a general discussion.
In the first presentation, Kwon Hyo-jae, CEO of COR Energy Insight, will speak on "Demand for Marine MRO and Eco-Friendly Ship Retrofits, and Key Response Tasks," outlining market changes driven by the global regulatory environment and response strategies.
Next, Ahn Seung-hyun, associate research fellow at the Port Industry Research Division of KMI, will present on "Building Ship Repair Complexes and Fostering the Marine MRO Industry," offering suggestions on the need to expand national hub infrastructure and on the direction for developing the marine MRO sector.
During the general discussion, Yang Jong-seo, senior researcher at the Overseas Economic Research Institute of KEXIM, will serve as moderator. Officials from central government ministries, local governments, and industry experts will join the discussion on cooperation measures and policy tasks for developing the marine MRO industry by utilizing Busan's industrial base.
Through the forum, the city aims to broaden consensus among the National Assembly, government ministries, and industry on the importance of the marine MRO sector and Busan's role. It also plans to strengthen the foundation for cooperation on legislative, budgetary, and policy support at the national level.
Park Dong-seok, head of the Advanced Industry Bureau, said, "The marine MRO industry is a key growth engine that will drive the upgrading of Busan's shipbuilding equipment industry amid rapidly changing security conditions and the transition to an eco-friendly paradigm." He added, "As Busan is the best location thanks to its strong experience in repairing small and medium-sized vessels and its solid shipbuilding equipment base, we will work closely with the National Assembly, government ministries, and industry to develop Busan into a global marine MRO hub city."

[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter