"Incheon with Airport and Port is the Best Location"…Citywide Rally Held to Urge Hosting of Maritime Specialized Court in Incheon

The "Incheon Campaign Headquarters for the Establishment of a Maritime Specialized Court," hosted by the Incheon Campaign Headquarters for the Establishment of a Maritime Specialized Court, held the "Incheon Campaign Rally to Urge the Establishment of a Maritime Specialized Court" on the 4th at the main conference room of Incheon City Hall.

About 200 people attended the rally, including representatives from port and civic organizations, the legal community, academia, and local political circles.

They urged that a maritime specialized court should be established in Incheon, which has international airport and port infrastructure, considering the accessibility for major domestic law firms handling maritime disputes and overseas maritime court users (shipowners, international logistics brokers, etc.).

Kim Yoomyung, head of the campaign headquarters and a lawyer, stated, "South Korea, a maritime powerhouse, lacks a maritime specialized court, resulting in 500 billion KRW in annual legal costs flowing out to foreign courts," and emphasized, "A maritime court must be established in Incheon, the optimal location with an international airport and port that can also generate demand for international maritime cases."

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, "To promptly and fairly resolve maritime cases domestically, prevent the outflow of national wealth overseas, and cultivate maritime litigation specialists to strengthen the competitiveness of shipping and port companies, a maritime court must be established in Incheon, where the airport is located."

At the "Incheon-wide Citizens' Rally to Urge the Establishment of a Maritime Specialized Court in Incheon" held on the 4th at the Incheon City Hall main conference room, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and participants of the Citizens' Movement Headquarters are performing a rally urging the establishment.
[Photo by Incheon City]

The campaign headquarters plans to actively carry out activities to attract the maritime court, including legislative support for the establishment of the maritime court in Incheon, policy forums to build public consensus, and signature campaigns among Incheon citizens.

The campaign headquarters is a coalition of private organizations, led by Lee Gwibok, chairman of the Incheon Port Development Council, Shim Jaeseon, chairman of the Incheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ahn Gwanju, chairman of the Incheon Bar Association, with 14 civic groups in the Incheon area participating as co-representatives. Eighteen people, including local lawmakers from Incheon, Shim Jeong-gu, chairman of the Citizens' Elders Council, and former Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Hwang Woo-yeo, serve as advisors.

Although South Korea is a top 10 maritime power globally, it has relied on overseas arbitration centers or maritime courts in countries such as the UK and Singapore for maritime dispute cases due to the absence of a dedicated court.

Accordingly, as the need for establishing a maritime court has emerged, maritime cities such as Incheon and Busan, as well as Seoul, are fiercely competing to attract the court.

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