BUSAN — President Lee Jae-myung attended an unveiling ceremony for HMM's new headquarters in Busan on the 13th, then headed to the city's North Port waterfront park, home to the shark mascot "Bukangi," where he spent time greeting residents.
Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, gave the account in a written briefing. Lee first attended a welcoming ceremony in Busan for a trial voyage along the Arctic shipping route, where he praised the work of the crew and others involved.
He then proceeded to the HMM headquarters unveiling. About 50 people attended, including HMM's chief executive, union representatives and employees, as well as the minister of oceans and fisheries, the mayor of Busan, the chairman of the Korea Development Bank and the chief executive of the Korea Ocean Business Corporation. At the ceremony, Lee joined the other guests in pulling away the covering from a structure symbolizing HMM that had previously stood in Seoul, formally marking the start of the company's Busan era, Sung said.
The relocation of HMM — South Korea's largest shipping company and the world's eighth-largest — has been a key policy goal of the Lee administration. Labor and management reached an agreement in late April, and after securing an office building and moving staff, the company began full operations in Busan on the 12th.
After the ceremony, Lee visited HMM's offices to encourage employees. He asked workers who had relocated from Seoul whether they were having any difficulties settling into life in Busan, stressing that "employee satisfaction has to be high."
He then visited Pier 5 at Busan's North Port, where the Pan Star Arco, the vessel used for the Arctic route trial voyage, was berthed. Touring the ship, Lee asked the captain and the oceans minister about its structure and equipment, and looked out over the port while listening to a briefing on operations and development plans.
Lee finished by moving to the waterfront park, where the shark Bukangi is kept, and met visitors who had come from various parts of the country to see it. He greeted and shook hands with each of the cheering visitors and posed for selfies. Residents said they were delighted, remarking that they "came to see Bukangi and ended up seeing the president, too," Sung said.