Interview with New Minister of MOMAF

- Could you tell us that what your main plans and wishes are as minist
er of MOMAF?

Minister: I will keep on with those things that MOMAF has been focusin
g on for a long time. It is just the start for me as the new Minister,
so I would like to say that I will do my best to make Korea a powerfu
l maritime country.
I will concentrate on 4 projects, hoping to make Korea a powerful mari
time country throughout the 21st century, a 'Blue Revolution'
First, we will try to keep the ocean clean and safe. Second, we will d
ownsize fisheries and promote resource-comservation and fish farms. Th
ird, we will try to foster and develop world-class marine science.

-Could you explain your plans for the Public Port Authority, which is
a hot issue these days?

Minister: We have a written law that the Public Port Authority will in
troduce as a model for the Port of Inchon and Pusan, and after making
and revising the relevant bills, likewise a Port Authority statute.
MOMAF has requested a research paper on "methods of introducing a Port
Authority system" from the Korea Maritime Institute as a base, and wi
ll compose and run a "committee for the investigation of and improving
of port structure" in which officials from the government, and local
government officials from Pusan and other port cities, users and exper
ts on the topic will take part. Through this committee, the basic prin
ciples and directions for renovation of the ports will be discussed in
detail. It will be decided as soon as possible, the government's fina
l plans about the time and forms to institute the Port Authority. We h
ave a deadline to complete the second renovation of the government str
ucture, by this coming February, so we need to prepare the bill as soo
n as possible to hand over to the National Congress. It is inevitable
that we introduce the Port Authority system to make the business secti
on of the government private.

- Do you have any special idea to help foster the marine industry in S
outh Korea?

Minister: We have possessed a lot of possibility on developing the mar
ine industry, as seeing that our country transports nearly 99.7 percen
t of export - and import - products by sea and is geographically locat
ed in the middle of trunk routes. Also, it is important that 64 percen
t of global cargoes are moved in American and Asian trade routes.
But, the marine industry is characterized as under nearly completely c
ompetitive business conditions and to be highly free and open, as oppo
sed to other industries. So it is imminent and important business to b
ecome competitive as a Maritime country. For this purpose, we will ope
n new container trade routes between Korea and China, the biggest mark
et in the world, and also build Korean shipping companies' global mari
ne service networks, by signing a maritime treaty with countries in So
uth America, a niche market.
We will also try to acquire financial funds for vessels through variou
s ways and promote the maritime industry through E-commerce systems.
- Could you tell us about being a logistic center in North East Asia?

Minister: As of 1998, we handled 700 million tons of cargo in our port
s around this country. We expect that this amount will increase to 1.4
billion tons by 2011 and during this period, container cargoes will g
row to 20 million TEU from 7 million TEU. To handle this increase, we
need to develop 600 additional berths at a cost of about 3.2 billion w
on. To prepare all this, we have to solicit foreign capital as well as
domestic private capital.
Relating to soliciting foreign capital, Evergreen and Uniglory, Taiwan
ese shipping companies, have taken part in the Kamman Terminal develop
ment project in the Port of Pusan, investing $35 million in it. PSA (t
he Port Authority of Singapore) decided to invest $200 million to deve
lop the container quay in the Southern Port of Inchon. IPEM, a Belgian
company, also wrote a letter of investment intent to the tune of $190
million for the Port of Kwangyang. Further, other relevant companies
have shown interest in investing in the Port of Kwangyang.

-Could you tell us in more detail about plans for new port development
?

Minister: The new port development project is aiming at building 9 new
ports by 2011, helping the growing cargoes get handled without detent
ion, and helping Korea jump to becoming the logistic center of North E
ast Asia.
Especially, we want to make the new Port of Pusan and Kwangyang the ch
eapest ports and largest hub ports in the world. We will invest 5.6tri
llion Won and make 24 container piers and a car pier, treating 4.6 mil
lion TEU and 300 thousand cars per year. Kwangyang will be built to ha
ve 24 container quays, handling 5.28 million TEUs. In the beginning of
business, we plan to invite 57 percent of total capital, and during c
onstruction we will then invest more, figuring out problems such as la
gging profits and difficulty in getting financial assistance.
InformationWeek 500 Cites Ocean Carrier for Info Technology Excellence