Busan, Samsung Heavy Industries sign MOU to expand R&D center

Busan city and Samsung Heavy Industries have signed an investment MOU to expand the company's Busan R&D Center. Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo and Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Choi Sung-an attended the signing ceremony Thursday morning at the international protocol hall of Busan City Hall.

Samsung Heavy Industries recently secured a contract with US-based Delfin LNG for a floating liquefied natural gas facility — a large offshore plant that extracts, liquefies, stores and offloads natural gas at sea. The company plans to pair the R&D center expansion with large-scale new hiring as it strengthens its foothold in North America and builds technological competitiveness in the offshore plant sector.

Samsung Heavy Industries will invest about 8.6 billion won ($6.28 million) to relocate and expand the center to a 5,610-square-meter space in the Munhyeon Financial Complex in Nam-gu, with new marine design and research staff to be hired by 2028. The investment will transform the Busan center from its original role of providing basic detailed design support into an integrated design hub covering the full scope of its offshore business, including sales, research and IT functions beyond design.

The city said it expects the expansion to do more than enlarge the research space, describing it as a pivotal opportunity to reverse the flow of talent heading to the Greater Seoul area and position Busan as a key R&D hub leading the eco-friendly and digital transformation of the shipbuilding and marine industry.

The move is also expected to contribute to a virtuous cycle of investment by giving local young people access to quality jobs and growth opportunities and by creating conditions where skilled workers can study, work and settle in the city. Busan plans to leverage the pool of specialized technical graduates produced each year by 22 local universities, including Pusan National University, along with residential conditions, to attract more knowledge-service companies concentrated in the Greater Seoul area and generate jobs preferred by Busan's youth.

"Samsung Heavy Industries' investment will go a long way toward strengthening the marine industry ecosystem, preventing the outflow of young and highly skilled workers to the Greater Seoul area, and building a virtuous cycle of employment," Mayor Jeon said. "We will give Samsung Heavy Industries our full support so that government and business can work in close partnership to realize Busan's vision as the maritime capital."