Chungnam Province "Local Transfer of Trade Port Usage Fees... Securing up to 16 Billion KRW Annually"

Transfer of Trade Port Usage Fees from Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Chungnam Province
Usage Fees Reflected and Budgeted from This Year's First Supplementary Budget
Securing up to 16 Billion KRW Annually for Port Development and Management

The ‘Local Management Trade Port Facility Usage Fee (hereinafter referred to as the Trade Port Usage Fee),’ which has been collected as national revenue, will be transferred to local governments. Chungnam Province expects this to result in an annual local tax revenue effect of up to 16 billion KRW.

On the 24th, Chungnam Province announced that it recently received notification from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries that the transfer process for the usage fees of two local trade ports, Boryeong Port and Taean Port, has begun.

Previously, due to the revision of the Port Act, since 2021, Chungnam Province has been delegated 41 national tasks related to facility development and operation for local management trade ports within its jurisdiction, including Boryeong Port and Taean Port, as well as coastal ports such as Daecheon Port and Maryangjin Port.

However, separate from the delegation of national tasks, the trade port usage fees were not transferred, and thus the fees had to be collected and processed as national revenue.

In response, Chungnam Province first proposed the local transfer of the trade port usage fees to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in August 2022. In March of last year, Governor Kim Tae-heum of Chungnam Province met with the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to discuss ‘onboard policy issues’ and reiterated the request for local transfer. As a result, when Governor Kim met with the Minister, Chungnam Province received a response from the Ministry stating that they would ‘actively consider’ the matter.

Subsequently, in September of last year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries notified the final decision to transfer, making the local transfer of the trade port usage fees more tangible.

The trade port usage fees to be transferred to Chungnam Province from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries include ship entry and exit fees, berthing fees, anchorage fees, cargo entry fees, exclusive facility usage fees, and water area occupancy fees, with an expected annual collection of up to 16 billion KRW.

Chungnam Province plans to reflect and organize the trade port usage fees as local tax revenue in this year’s first supplementary budget. Once the trade port usage fees are transferred as local tax revenue, Chungnam Province intends to use the related budget for the development of locally managed ports.

Jang Jin-won, Director of the Marine and Fisheries Bureau of Chungnam Province, said, “With the transfer of the trade port usage fees, Chungnam Province expects to manage and operate the ports within its jurisdiction more stably,” adding, “The transfer of the trade port usage fees is the first step toward completing the era of port autonomy, and Chungnam Province will focus its administrative efforts on developing the ports within its jurisdiction into global port logistics hubs.”

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