Samsung Heavy Industries to Expand and Relocate R&D Center in Busan, Aiming to "Foster New Shipbuilding and Marine Industries"

[Financial News] As leading domestic shipbuilding and marine companies move to Busan, driven by the synergy created by the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Samsung Heavy Industries will expand and relocate its Busan R&D center. The investment is expected to serve as a leading example of attracting a major company’s core research functions to the region. It is also expected to strengthen Busan’s industrial competitiveness and help foster future industries, including shipbuilding and marine sectors.
Busan Metropolitan City announced that it will sign a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Heavy Industries on expanding the company’s Busan R&D center at the city hall’s International Protocol Room on the morning of the 3rd.
Mayor Chun Jae-soo and Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Choi Sung-an will attend the signing ceremony and sign the memorandum of understanding in person.
After successfully entering the North American market by winning an order for a large floating plant, or FLNG, from Delfin LNG, Samsung Heavy Industries will invest approximately KRW 8.6 billion to expand and relocate its Busan R&D center to Munhyeon Finance Park in Nam-gu. The center will have a total floor area of 1,700 pyeong. The company also plans to hire new marine design and research personnel by 2028.
Through this investment, Samsung Heavy Industries will expand the Busan center’s role beyond its initial function of providing detailed-design support. It will add sales, research, and information technology (IT) functions to establish an integrated design hub covering the entire marine business process.
The city expects the expansion and relocation to serve as an opportunity for Busan to emerge as a key R&D hub leading the eco-friendly and digital transformation of the shipbuilding and marine industries, rather than merely expanding research space.
The city also expects Samsung Heavy Industries’ research capabilities and highly skilled personnel to take root in Busan. This will provide local young people with quality jobs and opportunities for growth, while helping create a virtuous-cycle investment ecosystem in which talented individuals can study, work, and settle in the region.
The city plans to attract more knowledge-service companies currently concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, drawing on the abundant pool of specialized technical personnel graduating each year from 22 universities in Busan, including Pusan National University, as well as the city’s relatively favorable living conditions. Through this effort, it aims to create quality jobs preferred by local young people.
Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, "Samsung Heavy Industries’ investment will not only help prevent local young people and highly skilled workers from leaving for the Seoul metropolitan area, but will also make a significant contribution to creating a virtuous cycle of employment."
 
[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter