Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook’s Visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE Postponed Amid Escalating War

【Financial News, Ulsan = Reporter Choi Su-sang】As armed clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis intensify, with attacks continuing on major airports and energy facilities—particularly Aramco’s headquarters—the planned Middle East trip by Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook, scheduled to begin on November 2 to attract foreign investment for Ulsan South New Port and discuss bringing S-OIL Korea’s headquarters to Ulsan, has been postponed provisionally.
According to Ulsan City on the 20th, the decision was made after comprehensively reviewing the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local diplomatic missions, Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco, and the local trade offices of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), with the safety of the delegation given top priority.
Earlier, on October 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the travel advisory for all of Saudi Arabia to Level 3, advising people to leave the country. The travel insurance industry is also reported to have stopped selling policies for the area. Even if Mayor Kim and Ulsan City Hall staff were to travel, they would have to take the risk without being able to obtain travel insurance.
Locally, expatriate families and others are taking refuge in neighboring countries, while CEOs of global oil companies have canceled their attendance at the World Petroleum Congress, currently being held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. International events and business activities continue to be disrupted, with the “Future Investment Initiative (FII),” scheduled for the 26th, also postponed until next year.
In particular, Dhahran, Dammam, and Riyadh, which were on Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook’s planned itinerary, are areas where major airports and energy facilities are concentrated. Depending on the local situation, flights, travel between cities, and corporate meeting schedules are all highly likely to be disrupted.
Mayor Kim had originally planned to visit Dhahran, Dammam, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, as well as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 2 to 7, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
During the visit, he was scheduled to meet with Aramco officials and the Saudi ministers of transport and logistics services and energy, and to pursue city-to-city exchanges with Dammam in the Eastern Province as part of friendly cooperation.
In particular, Ulsan City had planned to discuss attracting investment from Aramco and the UAE for Ulsan South New Port, which is currently being developed as an international energy hub. Middle Eastern oil-producing countries have shown interest in securing crude oil storage tanks in Northeast Asia, so the postponement of the visit is somewhat disappointing for Ulsan City.
Ulsan City plans to continue monitoring the local situation and safety conditions, and to reschedule the visit in consultation with relevant organizations and companies once the situation stabilizes.
A city official said, “We judged that, amid growing uncertainty in the international situation, the safety of the delegation had to be our top priority,” adding, “We will closely monitor the local situation, maintain a foundation for cooperation with major companies and relevant organizations, and continue related efforts so that we can achieve tangible investment-attraction results once safety is ensured.”
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