▲ Oceans Minister nominee Hwang Jong-woo speaks to reporters as he arrives at his office in Busan to prepare for a parliamentary hearing on March 3, 2026. (Yonhap)

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Oceans minister nominee vows to make Busan into country's maritime capital

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- Oceans Minister nominee Hwang Jong-woo on Tuesday vowed to make the southeastern port city of Busan the maritime capital of South Korea in an anticipated era of Arctic shipping routes.

Hwang reaffirmed the government's vision of developing Busan, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, into a global maritime hub for the Arctic shipping routes, expected to expand in coming years, on his first day as a minister nominee.

A former career bureaucrat, Hwang was tapped as the new oceans minister by President Lee Jae Myung the previous day, about 81 days after former Minister Chun Jae-soo stepped down amid allegations that he accepted bribes from the Unification Church.

"To transform Busan into a true maritime capital, we need to create a public-private cluster comprising maritime and fisheries institutions," Hwang told reporters, calling for the relocation of the headquarters of HMM Co., South Korea's leading shipper, to Busan.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries relocated to Busan last year under the government's maritime hub initiative.

Regarding the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, Hwang said the oceans ministry will play a more "active" role in protecting the safety of Korean vessels in the Middle East and responding to supply chain and logistics disruptions.

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