BPA President Ki-tack Lim‘Shipping Information Decides

Port Competitiveness’



“Extensive Expansion of Overseas Representatives”

“Even though the infrastructure of Busan Port is at world-class level, we still have a long way to become an advanced port. It is now time to exchange shipping information and make Busan a hub city where sales offices of foreign corporations actively run their businesses.”

BPA President Ki-tack Lim emphasized the urgency of establishing a system which can make Busan become a global shipping city. He said “when I was working overseas, I did not received single piece of shipping information about Busan Port despite its status as the worlds 5th largest container hub. Even now, Busan is a stagnant city where global shipping information does not flow.”

Lim said “global shipping companies are mostly situated in Singapore, Hongkong, London and Shanghai, hence, all shipping logistics information are sucked into those cities.” Then he stated “Busan has only good port facilities, but it lacks information and global access.”

For this reason, he said “we need to create a shipping environment not only for domestic shipping companies headquarters, but also those of global enterprises. Further, English language must be widely utilized for foreign clients convenience.”

President Lim plans to draw up BPA x-x-documents in both English and Korean. He has a firm belief that Busan can be a shipping finance hub when international seminars are held frequently.

Mr. Lim stated that Busan could sustain losses from its lack of information on shipping ports. He said “Even though global trend for vessel fuel is shifting from oil to LNG, Busan has inadequate information and plans to build fuel terminal station to sell oil to shipping companies. Singapore and China are already preparing for facility construction targeting the LNG market.” According to his comment, the information plays a crucial role in the development of the shipping industry, and Busan has fallen behind in terms of information.

He decided to expand overseas representatives to strengthen global capacity. He will deploy additional employees to Singapore and England to gather local information and enhance marketing activities.

He said “In order to out compete other nations, we need precise information. Unfortunately, BPA is not equipped with well-organized global networks yet. Hence, it is urgent to acquire skilled workers, gather information, and strengthen our analysis ability.”

Lim added “Busan is connected to Ulsan and Geoje where the world best shipbuilding clusters are located. In addition, the number of vessels(over 10,000 TEU) that called at Busan Port has increase 150 percent since 2009. Also, a number of large scale cruise ships have entered the port.”

Lim, however, said that overheated dumping causes serious problems. He described “North Port and New Port should charge 75 thousand won per container, but instead they charge 35~40 thousand won. As a result, terminal operators are in the red. To resolve the issue, we are working on reducing dumping, and seeking measures to receive appropriate landing charges.”

He sees that Busan Port requires comprehensive renovation. First, he is drawing up ‘Busan Port 2030 Development Strategy’ for upcoming BPAs 10th anniversary. He is considering ‘Creative Economic Measures’ which will invigorate port distriparks and build an iron ore transshipment base to create added value and employment. He plans to build close relationships with foreign ports and raise Busan Ports global image and awareness.