Signage of the Office of Artic Sea Route Strategy and Development is seen on a wall of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries building in Dong-gu, Busan.
 

The government will promote an Arctic route trial operation from Busan to Rotterdam this year, Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Seong-beom said on Jan. 5.

Kim disclosed this plan at the first work commencement ceremony held since the ministry’s relocation to Busan, stating, “2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ establishment and serves as the first year of a new beginning for a great leap forward in marine and fisheries sectors.”

The ministry completed its relocation from Sejong City to Busan on Dec. 23.

Kim added, “We will promote the creation of a marine cluster where companies, public institutions, maritime courts, and the Southeast Region Investment Corp. are concentrated,” and “We will develop Busan Port into the world’s largest port and transform it into a global logistics hub through terminal operation efficiency improvements and comprehensive port service provision.”

Kim also emphasized, “To accelerate the transition to eco-friendly vessels, we will secure various investment resources and develop core technologies for fully autonomous ships in earnest,” and “We will establish a pilot port in Gwangyang Port to demonstrate domestic smart port technologies and expand them to ports nationwide.”

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to accelerate innovation in the fisheries industry as well. He stated, “We will intensively reduce the excessive fishing fleet relative to fishery resources while establishing a fishery structure improvement plan to renovate old vessels into larger and modernized ships,” and also said, “For aquaculture, we will discover new aquaculture sites in distant seas with low water temperatures and in East Sea waters, and induce smart and large-scale aquaculture through the development of smart aquaculture leading districts.”