The government will supply 16 trillion won in win-win trade finance to strengthen export competitiveness in K-shipbuilding and will invest 1 trillion won by 2030 to build an artificial intelligence (AI) shipyard.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said accordingly at the "K-shipbuilding future vision roundtable" held at Ulsan Hyundai Hotel on the 13th. About 40 people attended, including major shipbuilders such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries; small and midsize shipbuilders; equipment manufacturers; partners; and financial institutions.
The government first rolled out large-scale financial support to back a leap in shipbuilding exports. Shinhan, Woori, and Hana Bank and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation decided to expand the supply of productive trade finance to 15 trillion won. In addition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries will provide 1 trillion won in supply chain guarantees with the banks, bringing total win-win trade finance to 16 trillion won.
Technology investment will also move into full swing. The government will invest up to 525 billion won over five years to secure cargo containment system technologies for key ship types such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, ammonia carriers, hydrogen carriers, and liquefied carbon dioxide carriers. For the AI shipyard project, it will inject 1 trillion won in a public-private partnership by 2030 to apply AI across all processes—design, production, and operation—and aims to raise productivity by process by up to 50%. Up to 630 billion won will be invested separately over seven years to develop fully autonomous ships.
The government also plans to prepare support measures so that the public sector can prioritize domestic orders for resource and energy-related vessels such as LNG carriers and offshore wind support vessels. On the workforce side, the government will operate an "OJT Academy" starting in the second half of the year, where senior retirees pass on their experience, to train 15,000 professionals and skilled workers by 2030. The three major shipbuilders said they will increase direct-hire personnel by more than 20% this year from a year earlier.
Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said, "As future competition goes beyond corporations to competition among ecosystems, cooperation among all members is crucial," adding, "We will swiftly carry out the key tasks promised today to open a bigger future for K-shipbuilding."