Heung-A Shipping said on the 7th that it will transfer its headquarters to Busan. The transfer to Busan by a domestic shipping company is the fourth, following SK Shipping, H Line Shipping, and HMM. Heung-A Shipping plans to transfer its headquarters to Busan to strengthen cooperation with the maritime cluster and to push its mid- to long-term growth strategy, "Vision 2035."
Chief Executive Lee Hwan-gu of Heung-A Shipping held a press conference at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the same day and said, "After discussions with employees, we decided to transfer everyone to Busan with no staff remaining in Seoul." Lee said, "We judged that it would be difficult to move forward as a global carrier unless we are closely aligned with where the cluster is being built."
Ahead of the press conference, Heung-A Shipping held a board meeting and approved an agenda to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting to amend the articles of incorporation. With an agenda to amend the articles to set the headquarters location as Busan Metropolitan City, the company plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on the 20th of next month to approve it. The company aims to complete the headquarters transfer registration in early September this year and finish the transfer within the year.
This year, the company plans to move 34 of the 36 employees at the Seoul headquarters to Busan within the year, excluding two stationed overseas. The headquarters will use the building in Jung-gu, Busan, Jungang-dong, where the ship management subsidiary Heung-A Marine is located. Heung-A Shipping plans to build an integrated management system that enables consolidation of functions with Heung-A Marine to efficiently pursue its business strategy.
Lee said, "The transfer to Busan will be a significant milestone in rebirth from an Asia-focused specialized carrier of petroleum and chemical products to a global carrier centered on eco-friendly large bulk carriers," adding, "We will enhance global competitiveness with an integrated management system in which sales, operations, and ship management are linked like a single organization."
Heung-A Shipping is accelerating fleet expansion under its mid- to long-term growth strategy, "Vision 2035." In June, it signed a newbuilding contract for six 26,000 DWT tankers, and the total fleet is expected to expand to 20 ships and 336,000 DWT by 2030.
Regarding this, Lee said, "To push the mid- to long-term growth strategy, we also need many personnel to operate the increasing asset," adding, "We plan to fill most of these positions with talent from the Busan region." Lee said, "Attracting talent was the biggest concern for the Busan transfer, but we believe it can be addressed as there are excellent national and public universities, including Korea Maritime and Ocean University."
Minister Hwang Jong-woo of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who attended the press conference, congratulated Heung-A Shipping on its homecoming after 40 years, saying, "We will prepare support needed for employees' relocation and settlement, along with the Busan city government, as well as support to strengthen competitiveness." Heung-A Shipping was founded in Busan in 1961 and transferred its headquarters to Seoul in 1986.
With Heung-A Shipping announcing the transfer of its headquarters on the day, there are now four domestic carriers that have moved their headquarters to Busan: SK Shipping, H Line Shipping, and HMM. The Minister Hwang said, "There are no carriers currently consulting with us on a Busan transfer, but I understand there are carriers internally reviewing a Busan transfer," adding, "Heung-A Shipping also decided on the transfer on its own without consulting us."