The Korea Iron and Steel Association and the Korea Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Association held the 4th Joint Steel-Shipbuilding Industry Seminar on the 5th. It was organized after about 1 year and 3 months since the end of 2023 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperative relationships and manufacturing competitiveness between the two industries.
The seminar was held that afternoon at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, and more than 60 participants from the government and industry, including Lee Seung-ryeol, Head of the Industrial Policy Office of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Iron and Steel Association Vice President Lee Kyung-ho, and Korea Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Association Vice President Choi Kyu-jong, attended.
At the seminar, Kang Gu-sang, Head of the North America and Europe Team at the Institute for International Economic Policy, began by presenting the policy direction of the Trump administration's second term and the corresponding strategies of the Korean iron and steel and shipbuilding industries, followed by presentations on each industry's response strategies to global environmental changes.
Kang noted, "Despite the unilateral trade policies of the Trump administration, the iron and steel and shipbuilding industries need a joint response at the One Team level for cooperation with the U.S. shipbuilding industry."
Following this, Lee Yoon-hee, a researcher at POSCO Research Institute, emphasized cooperation for creating new demand along with core industries such as shipbuilding while presenting strategies for the iron and steel industry, and Eom Kyung-ah from Shinyoung Securities stated that maintaining competitive advantage through the development of next-generation eco-friendly ships is necessary for the shipbuilding industry's response strategy.
After the presentations, Professor Min Dong-jun from Yonsei University served as moderator for a panel discussion attended by Hong Jeong-ui, Deputy Minister of the Korea Iron and Steel Association, and Jeong Seok-joo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Shipbuilding Association.
Lee Kyung-ho, Vice President of the Korea Iron and Steel Association, and Choi Kyu-jong, Vice President of the Korea Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Association, said, "This seminar was an opportunity for the iron and steel and shipbuilding industries to engage in practical discussions to enhance competitiveness in the global market," adding, "We will promote sustainable growth through close cooperation between the two industries in the future."