GEOJE — The Geoje City Council in South Gyeongsang Province has adopted a resolution calling for a full review of plans by Hanwha Ocean (042660) and Samsung Heavy Industries (010140) to expand their design centers in Busan and hire additional design engineers there. The council's formal objection follows a similar call for reconsideration made by Geoje Mayor Byun Kwang-yong on the 2nd.
The council said on the 10th that it had adopted the "Resolution Urging a Full Review of Samsung Heavy Industries' and Hanwha Ocean's Busan Design Center Expansion and Additional Design Hiring Plans" at the second plenary meeting of its 256th special session on the 9th. All 16 council members joined in sponsoring the measure.
In the resolution, the council argued that expanding the two shipyards' design centers in Busan amid a shipbuilding boom would weaken design capacity at their Geoje headquarters and drain quality jobs, seriously damaging the local economy. It called for an immediate halt to the Busan expansion and additional hiring plans, followed by a comprehensive review. The council also demanded that the companies strengthen design capacity at their Geoje headquarters, draw up measures to keep key talent in the region and sharply expand hiring of new on-site workers.
Lee Tae-yeol of the Democratic Party of Korea, who led the resolution, stressed that the gains from the shipbuilding boom should translate into quality local jobs and a stronger regional economy. The council plans to send the resolution to the central government, South Gyeongsang Province, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries.
At a press conference on the 2nd, Byun said that if skilled workers continue to leave Geoje, home to the companies' production base and core operations, the city will lose its central role in the shipbuilding industry and be reduced to a simple manufacturing site. He asked the companies to review their plans.
The two shipyards employ about 2,000 design engineers in Geoje and about 350 in Busan. Samsung Heavy Industries plans to hire about 130 more in Busan by 2030, while Hanwha Ocean plans to add about 400 by 2029, according to sources.
Both companies said the expansion of their design operations in Busan is not intended to scale back functions at their Geoje plants or relocate workers. Samsung Heavy Industries said it has treated Geoje as its core production and technology base since its founding and that this stance will not change. The company said its research and development center in Busan is designed to tap the concentration of skilled workers, universities and equipment suppliers in the Busan and South Gyeongsang region to foster joint growth in the southeastern region's shipbuilding and offshore industry. The positions under consideration in Busan are not transfers from Geoje but a move to supplement and expand specialized offshore design staff that are difficult to secure, it said.
Hanwha Ocean said it is considering setting up an office in Busan to serve as a base for design work but that nothing has been finalized. The company said the plan is aimed at the sustainable development of the southeastern shipbuilding ecosystem spanning South Gyeongsang Province and Busan. It also said it intends to extend the competitiveness it has built up at its Geoje plant across the southeastern region and secure a broader pool of skilled workers to strengthen production and construction capabilities at Geoje.
