President Lee visits HMM after its move to Busan: “Employee satisfaction must be high”

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung visited HMM’s Busan headquarters on the 13th, encouraged employees who had relocated from Seoul, and stressed, “Employee satisfaction has to be high.”
Seong Gi-hong, Cheong Wa Dae’s senior secretary for public relations and communication, said in a written briefing that day that President Lee attended the unveiling ceremony at HMM’s Busan headquarters after the welcome ceremony for the Arctic route’s pilot voyage. After the unveiling, President Lee went to the office and asked employees what life in Busan was like and whether they had any difficulties.
HMM, South Korea’s largest shipping company and the world’s eighth-largest, was slated to relocate to Busan as a policy task of the Lee Jae-myung administration. Following a labor-management agreement in late April, it completed preparations including securing an office building and relocating employees, and began full-scale operations in Busan on the 12th.
The government is pursuing policies for balanced national development and locally led growth, aiming to develop the Southeast Region of Korea around Busan through the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the headquarters of four shipping companies, as well as the establishment of a maritime court.
About 50 people attended the unveiling ceremony, including HMM’s CEO, a labor union representative and employees, as well as the minister of oceans and fisheries, the Busan mayor, the chairman of the Korea Development Bank and the president of the Korea Ocean Business Corporation. Together with the attendees, President Lee removed the curtain covering HMM’s symbolic structure, which had been installed in Seoul, to celebrate the opening of the Busan headquarters.
After his visit to HMM, President Lee went to Pier 5 at Busan’s North Port, where the Panstar Akro, the vessel conducting the Arctic route pilot voyage, was docked. As he toured the vessel, he asked Captain Seo Myeong-won and the minister of oceans and fisheries about its structure and equipment, and also received a briefing on North Port’s operations and development plans. The crew aboard the vessel greeted President Lee.
President Lee then went to the waterfront park where the shark “Bukangi” is located and greeted citizens. He shook hands and took selfies with cheering citizens. The citizens expressed delight, saying, “We came to see Bukangi and ended up seeing the president too.”
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter