BUSAN — Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) will build a second large-scale engineering center in Busan, significantly expanding its core design and research and development capabilities in commercial shipbuilding and offshore plants.
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo and Hanwha Ocean President Chung In-sub signed a memorandum of understanding for the additional Busan Engineering Center at a video conference room in city hall on the afternoon of the 21st, the city government said.
Under the agreement, Hanwha Ocean will invest more than 13.6 billion won ($9.5 million) to build the 9,110-square-meter center in the Bujeon-dong area of Busanjin District. The company also plans to hire a large number of specialists in advanced design and R&D for its commercial vessel and offshore plant divisions by 2028.
The investment follows the successful operation of an engineering center that opened in Busan's Jung District last year. While running the existing center, Hanwha Ocean assessed from multiple angles whether it could secure skilled engineers locally, and decided to add the new facility to develop Busan into a main design and R&D hub.
The city said the new center will do more than expand research infrastructure, serving as a catalyst for technology cooperation across the local shipbuilding and offshore industry as it faces a shift toward eco-friendly and digital operations. Officials also expect it to help build a cycle in which specialists trained at local universities are hired by key companies in the region and settle there.
Taking Hanwha Ocean's successive investments as a starting point, the city plans to sharply expand its efforts to attract core R&D functions not only in shipbuilding and offshore manufacturing but also in related knowledge-service industries and emerging sectors, upgrading the region's industrial structure.
"Hanwha Ocean's investment will further solidify Busan's shipbuilding and offshore industry base and lay the groundwork for young people in the region to find professional jobs and grow in their hometown," Jeon said. "We will spare no administrative and financial support so that Busan can firmly establish itself as a global hub city for shipbuilding and offshore R&D."