Kim Sang-wook and His “Close Friend,” Russia’s Ambassador to South Korea, Join Hands to Build a Northeast Asian Energy Hub

【Financial News Ulsan = Reporter Choi Soo-sang】 Kim Sang-wook, Mayor of Ulsan, met with Georgy Zinoviev, Russia’s ambassador to South Korea, to discuss practical economic cooperation between the two sides and ways to promote local diplomacy. The meeting drew considerable attention as it opened the door to exchanges led by local governments amid strained diplomatic relations between countries.
According to Ulsan Metropolitan City on the 6th, the meeting took place at Ulsan City Hall on the afternoon of the 4th. It was not the first meeting between the two men. Kim and Ambassador Zinoviev, who have been close since Kim’s time in the National Assembly, met at a Russia Day reception in Seoul last June, where they promised that Zinoviev would visit Ulsan. When they reunited that day, Kim warmly welcomed the ambassador, calling him a “friend at heart.” The ambassador also congratulated Kim on his recent election as mayor and demonstrated their deep trust.
The talks focused on “energy and logistics cooperation.” Kim emphasized that Ulsan is South Korea’s largest liquid-cargo port and a global energy hub. He said, “I hope that, in the near future, LNG from Russia’s Yamal Peninsula and crude oil from Kamchatka will enter the Port of Ulsan, creating mutually beneficial economic gains for both countries.”
Ambassador Zinoviev expressed support for Ulsan’s energy hub plans and voiced Russia’s willingness to actively cooperate with countries in the East, or Asia, rather than Europe.

The meeting has also brought renewed attention to exchanges between Ulsan Metropolitan City and Russian cities. Since establishing an official sister-city relationship with Tomsk, a Siberian center of science and education, in 2003, Ulsan has maintained longstanding exchanges, including inviting Russian public officials for training. The city has also cooperated on developing the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for many years. Building on this meeting, Ulsan plans to significantly broaden the scope of its exchanges, including pursuing a sister-city or friendship-city agreement with Sakhalin Oblast in Russia’s resource-rich Far East.
After the talks, Kim presented the Russian ambassador with a Korean traditional cloisonné craft, while the ambassador reciprocated with a handicraft made by an artisan from the Ural region and engraved with a double-headed eagle emblem.
Ulsan Metropolitan City expects the meeting to become an important milestone in its efforts to emerge as a “Northeast Asian energy trading hub,” moving beyond the framework of stalled national diplomacy.
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