HMM and its labor union, which had been locked in a sharp standoff that included talk of a possible general strike over the planned move of the company’s headquarters to Busan, reached a broad agreement after weighing concerns about potential disruptions to logistics at home and abroad and wider social impact.
With union opposition — the last major obstacle — now removed, the relocation of the headquarters of South Korea’s largest container shipping line is expected to be confirmed at a special shareholders meeting on May 8. The company is expected to begin full-scale practical preparations for the move in the second half of this year.
According to the shipping industry on the 30th, HMM and the union finalized the agreement and held a signing ceremony that day at the Kensington Hotel in Seoul’s Yeouido district. Attendees included Hwang Jong-woo, minister of oceans and fisheries; Choi Won-hyeok, HMM CEO; and Jung Sung-cheol, head of HMM’s onshore labor union.
Under the agreement, HMM will revise its articles of incorporation at the May 8 meeting to designate Busan, not Seoul, as its headquarters, and the change will take effect immediately after the revision. Legal procedures, including relocation registration, will be completed within May.
Because the company’s top two shareholders are state-run Korea Development Bank (35.42%) and Korea Ocean Business Corp. (35.08%), the articles change is expected to pass without major variables at the meeting.
As it moves its headquarters to Busan, HMM also plans to build a landmark office building at Busan North Port (the former Busan Port). The decision was made with expected synergy in mind with government ministries and affiliated agencies based in Busan, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Ocean Business Corp., the report said.
Choi said the company intends to “properly build a symbolic headquarters building that represents Busan,” taking into account the roughly 300 HMM employees already working in Busan and the number of staff who will relocate from Seoul.
Hwang said the ministry would “actively support” HMM’s swift construction of the new North Port headquarters, working with the Busan Port Authority and others.
The scale and timing of relocations for employees currently working in Seoul will be decided through labor-management talks after the legal procedures for the headquarters move are completed. Staff handling sales and ship financing — functions that require communication with domestic and overseas shippers — are likely to remain in Seoul in a branch format, while other departments move to the Busan headquarters.
HMM and the union have also begun discussions on support measures for relocating employees. To back the move, government ministries and the Busan city government have formed a consultative body and are working to detail support measures for the company and its workers.
Hwang said that following last year’s relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan and now HMM’s move, Busan is “beginning in earnest to take on the form of a maritime capital.” He added that the ministry would support HMM’s relocation and efforts to strengthen its global competitiveness “in various ways.”
Choi said labor and management faced “many differences and hurdles” in talks but reached an agreement “in the broader interest” of balanced national development. He added that with a “deterioration in performance becoming visible” due to the war in the Middle East, labor and management would work together to overcome the crisis and further strengthen capabilities as the world’s eighth-largest global shipping company.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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