Ministry of Oceans, southeastern local governments and business groups join forces to attract investment to 'maritime capital region'

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, local governments in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, and regional business groups are joining forces to attract corporate investment by positioning the three areas as a single "maritime capital region." The initiative aims to build a shared investment foundation across marine and port industries as well as future growth sectors — including clean energy and manufacturing AI — to develop the southeastern region into a unified mega-regional economic zone.

The ministry announced Wednesday that it will sign a mutual cooperation agreement in Busan on Thursday with the metropolitan cities of Busan and Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ulsan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the South Gyeongsang Province Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The agreement is aimed at fostering the maritime capital region and boosting joint investment attraction efforts.

The central government, the three local governments and regional business communities drew up the MOU to improve the corporate investment environment and strengthen the industrial competitiveness of the southeastern region.

The core objective is to consolidate the fragmented industrial bases and investment attraction capabilities of the individual localities. Participating organizations agreed to develop and pursue a joint strategy for building the maritime capital region and attracting corporate investment.

The sectors targeted for investment go beyond maritime industries. The partners plan to expand the foundation for attracting businesses across marine and marine-related industries, clean energy and manufacturing AI.

The signatories will also work together to ease regulations and institutional barriers that impede corporate investment, identifying and resolving on-the-ground difficulties faced by businesses and jointly developing the necessary support measures. They will co-host investment briefings for domestic and foreign companies and cooperate on building a global investment network and promotional activities.

The ministry believes the southeastern region can be developed into a single mega-regional economic zone by linking the world-class port and logistics infrastructure of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province with their existing industrial base in manufacturing, energy, advanced manufacturing and aerospace.

The agreement also marks a step toward translating the government's maritime capital region vision into concrete action at the corporate investment attraction stage.

The ministry launched a high-level policy consultative body in February to advance the maritime capital region initiative and has since gathered input from local governments and regional business communities. Drawing on that process, it presented the "Direction for Fostering the Southern Maritime Capital Region" at a Cabinet meeting in May.

The participating organizations plan to use the agreement as a springboard to step up corporate investment attraction activities and expand the industrial ecosystem and investment foundation through inter-regional cooperation and mutual benefit.

"Through this cooperation agreement, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, local governments and regional business communities will work closely together to lay the groundwork for the southeastern region to grow into a single mega-regional economic zone," Minister Hwang Jong-woo said. "We will continue to make every effort to build the maritime capital region and revitalize the regional economy."