"Will Do Our Best to Maintain World No.1 Shipbuilding Power" Gyeongnam Province Supports Growth of Daewoo Shipbuilding

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 14th that it will do its best to provide administrative support in cooperation with the government so that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) can be reborn as a sustainable company, following the European Union's (EU) disapproval of the corporate merger review between Hyundai Heavy Industries and DSME.

In response to this disapproval decision, Gyeongnam Province plans to propose to the Korea Development Bank a plan for DSME's independent survival and development, and focus its efforts on quickly resolving local concerns and conflicts caused by the three-year delay in the merger.

To ensure the continuous growth of medium and large shipyards in the province and secure future technological capabilities, the province will steadily implement the 'Gyeongsangnam-do Shipbuilding Industry Vitalization Measures' announced in May last year, accelerating efforts in employment stability, workforce training, and financial support.

Additionally, to strengthen the competitiveness of the future shipbuilding industry, the province will actively promote the fostering of an eco-friendly and smart shipbuilding industry, including designation of regulatory free zones for the use of zero-carbon ship fuels, support for commercialization of unmanned ships, establishment of smart yard infrastructure, and support for smartification of shipbuilding and marine equipment using information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

To ensure skilled and new workers actively enter shipyards such as DSME in the province, projects for training LNG-specialized design experts and production technology personnel will be implemented to actively support the supply of shipyard workforce.

Earlier, since June last year, Gyeongnam Province, together with DSME and Gyeongnam Bank, prepared a 25 billion KRW scale 'Shipbuilding Industry Win-Win Cooperation Special Fund' to support DSME's partner companies.

Despite exceeding the designation criteria due to the recovery of the shipbuilding market with large ship contracts last year, the province continuously petitioned the government to extend the designation period of 'Special Employment Industry for Shipbuilding' and 'Employment Crisis Area' until the end of this year, and the designation of 'Special Industrial Crisis Response Area' until May next year.

Acting Governor Ha Byung-pil said, "We plan to cooperate with the government and the Korea Development Bank so that DSME can continue its role as a world-class company and a local enterprise. We will faithfully implement the Gyeongnam-type shipbuilding industry vitalization measures and actively foster future shipbuilding such as low- and zero-carbon eco-friendly ships to maintain our position as the world's number one shipbuilding and marine powerhouse."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.