[2023 National Audit] Minister of Oceans and Fisheries: "150 Billion KRW Invested to Minimize Seafood Damage... Strengthening Consumption Activation Policies"

On the 12th, Cho Seung-hwan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "To prevent damage from decreased consumption of our seafood due to Fukushima contaminated water, we are investing about 150 billion KRW to promote consumption."

Minister Cho announced at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, that "to minimize the impact on the fisheries industry, we are actively implementing consumption activation policies this year using 144 billion KRW, including 80 billion KRW in contingency funds."

He added, "The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, responsible for seafood safety and marine environment protection, is taking all necessary measures prioritizing the health and safety of our citizens regarding the discharge of Fukushima contaminated water," and explained, "We plan to increase marine radiation monitoring from the current 200 points to 243 points next year."

Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is reporting on duties at the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Oceans and Fisheries Committee's audit held on the 12th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Measures to revitalize seafood and fishing villages will also be strengthened. A triple inspection system will be established for seafood covering production areas, production stages, and distribution stages for thorough management, and efforts will be made to enhance the competitiveness of the fisheries industry through scaling and smartization of aquaculture, distribution, and processing facilities. Minister Cho added, "Along with promoting the Fishing Village New Vitality Promotion Project with a total budget of 3 trillion KRW, we will provide direct payments to small-scale fishing households and crew members to offer tailored support to prevent the disappearance of fishing villages."

Minister Cho emphasized the leap toward becoming a maritime logistics powerhouse through fostering the shipping logistics industry. He said, "We will establish a shipping industry crisis response fund of up to 1 trillion KRW to stabilize shipping company management and proactively expand port infrastructure by swiftly building Busan Port Jinhae New Port and Gwangyang Port into Korean-style smart ports."

He continued, "The shipping industry has recovered to pre-Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy levels, recording 50 trillion KRW in shipping sales in 2021 and a deep-sea container ship capacity of 1.05 million TEU (1 TEU = one 20-foot container), including newly built vessels," and emphasized, "Regarding the national shipping company HMM, we will focus on creating conditions for the transfer of management rights to the private sector in consultation with related agencies such as the Financial Services Commission, considering the shipping market entering an adjustment phase and the capital market situation."

To create new added value in the marine industry, the ministry plans to invest 1.3 trillion KRW by 2030 in developing advanced marine mobility technologies such as a complex marine leisure tourism city, autonomous ship core technologies, and a digital maritime traffic platform. Minister Cho stated, "We will spare no policy support to help the marine bioindustry and marine energy industry grow into new growth industries."

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