Jeollanam-do Signs Investment Agreement for Korea's First Dedicated Offshore Wind Installation Port

Attracting LS, an Energy Anchor Company
A Turning Point for Advancing the Offshore Wind Industry

Jeonnam Provincial Government Office Exterior View

On October 20, Jeollanam-do signed an investment agreement at the Seo Jae-pil Room of the provincial government office with LS Materials and LS Marine Solution, subsidiaries of LS Cable & System, the top company in the domestic cable industry. The agreement aims to establish a dedicated offshore wind installation port and construct cable laying vessels.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Yungrok, Governor of Jeollanam-do; Koo Bonkyu, CEO of LS Cable & System; Lee Sangho, Head of Finance and Procurement/CFO; Hong Youngho, CEO of LS Materials; Kim Byungok, CEO of LS Marine Solution; and Myung Hyunkwan, Mayor of Haenam County.

This investment marks LS Group's first large-scale offshore wind project in Jeollanam-do. In connection with the government-led SK and OpenAI data center investment in the southwestern region, it is expected to strengthen the stable power supply infrastructure required for operating energy-intensive facilities and provide substantial momentum toward Jeollanam-do's goal of establishing a 30GW offshore wind power complex.

In particular, this is expected to serve as the starting point for building a "Korean-style Esbjerg Port" in Haenam. If LS Cable & System's manufacturing and installation capabilities are combined with the phased relocation and new investments by its subsidiaries, as well as the entry of related companies, the creation of an "LS Cluster" in Haenam could transform the local industrial ecosystem, similar to Denmark's Esbjerg Port (an offshore wind module installation port with over 200 companies and 45.9 trillion won in sales in 2022).

Under the agreement, LS Materials will establish and operate Korea's first "dedicated offshore wind installation port" in Haenam. This hub will provide assembly, storage, and shipping functions for wind turbine generator modules (WTG) and is expected to attract large equipment companies specializing in substructures and towers, making it a core forward base for the southwestern offshore wind industry.

LS Marine Solution will build Korea's largest subsea cable installation vessel, capable of simultaneously laying HVDC and optical cables in long-distance and deep-sea environments, and will operate it using the Haenam installation port as its base.

This agreement is significant in that it actively supports key government initiatives such as expanding renewable energy, energy superhighways, and building global AI data centers, while also accelerating the pace of these projects and establishing infrastructure to attract advanced industries.

Governor Kim Yungrok stated, "Jeollanam-do has made extraordinary efforts to attract LS, an energy anchor company, to ensure that the government's proactive investment support policies for the province gain momentum. This agreement will serve as a decisive turning point for Jeollanam-do to become a hub for the offshore wind industry."

Last month, Jeollanam-do continued its "spring of investment" by signing investment agreements worth 103.4 billion won with three export-oriented seaweed production companies and 100 billion won with global distributor Costco, expanding from AI data centers and K-seaweed to Costco and offshore wind power.

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