President Park Geun-hye leads the dignitaries present at the opening of the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation at University of Ulsan  in Ulsan on July 15 including Vice Speaker Jeong Kap-yoon of the National Assembly and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Hwang Woo-yea of the Ministry of Education.

President Park Geun-hye delivers her speech at the opening of the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation on July 15 at University of Ulsan in Ulsan.

The Ulsan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation is set to play a huge role in reviving the Shipbuilding and Marine Structure Facilities and building a base for the growth of medical services. It opened in Ulsan Metropolitan City on July 15 in a ceremony held at University of Ulsan. In attendance were a slew of dignitaries, led by President Park Geun-hye, high-ranking lawmakers such as Vice Speaker Jeong Kap-yoon and government officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Hwang Woo-yea of the Ministry of Education. Also present were local administrative officials such as Mayor Kim Ki-Hyun of Ulsan City and business leaders headed by President Kwon Oh-kap of Hyundai Heavy Industries and some 150 people altogether.

The Center is designed to support the revival of the shipbuilding and marine plant industries, and foster the high-tech medical sector with automated facilities, including robots, the connection of the platforms of the start-up education institutes and the Center, and fostering a 3D printing industry so it grows to become a major industry in Korea.

President Park said during the ceremony that the Center should be a navigator for Ulsan’s journey to become an agent of change, helping solve the wider problems of the region. 

The Chief Executive said that when the industry, academics and researchers cooperate with each other under the support of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s No. 1 shipbuilder, Ulsan City’s magnificent dream would be realized.

President Park Geun-hye talks at a lunch table with a number of dignitaries following the ceremony to open the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation at Unviersity of Ulsan on July 15.

Currently, the shipbuilding industry is in the process of developing “eco-ships” and “smart ships,” which is a new shipbuilding market with the Big Three in the industry, and medium-scale shipyards, cooperating together on the exploration effort. Ulsan also wants to combine the new medical sector, which is represented by robotics with the shipbuilding industry.

The Center has two floors, the Creative Floor and the “Fusion Floor,” taking up a total of 182.8 sq. meters in space. The Center also has the 180 Floor Remote Start-up Support Zone to connect Seoul start-ups with students from Ulsan University; the shipbuilding and marine structure zone; the Medical Automation Ecological Center, where nurses and doctors can mingle with the makers of the automatic medical equipment and facilities; in addition to the “3D Printing Industry Zone,” where 3D printing equipment and material are being developed.

First and foremost, HHI wants to open a new age for the shipbuilding industry through the Center. The largest shipbuilder in the world wants to embark upon a new era after overtaking its Japanese rivals by building new shipyards backed up by low wages, monopolizing the construction of high value-added shipbuilding sectors like super-sized containers and LNG tankers.

HHI has been focusing on the “Eco Ship” and “Smart Ship” fields as new shipbuilding areas to be explored for the revival of shipyards facing a slump.

Eco Ships boost fuel efficiency and reduce pollutants in the sea with reformative environmentally-friendly technologies. The three big shipyards located in Ulsan will make their 2,500 shipbuilding technology patents accessible to small shipbuilders in the city and shipbuilding material makers. Smart Ships are designed to boost safety in sailing in fusion with ICT, which needs cooperation with small and medium start-ups and small shipyards in the city for further development.

The marine plant construction industry will try to localize foreign-made equipment that goes into the marine structure. More than half of the industry’s costs of building marine structures go into pay for materials.