Korea Strives to Tap Seafloor Hydrothermal Sulfide Deposits

A comprehensive support system for Expo 2012 Yeosu

The government is stepping on the gas to tap deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide minerals, a senior government official said. "Efforts to aggressively enter the seafloor hydrothermal sulfide deposit industry is likely to pick up speed as the government and four companies, including Samsung Heavy Industries and Construction, plan to participate in a joint exploration and feasibility study from 2009 to 2011,"he said. The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and Joo Sung-ho, director-general of the Marine Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), who spoke about government policies, including ones aimed at promoting maritime culture and preparations for hosting Expo 2012 Yeosu.
Question: Will you tell our readers about Korea's maritime culture and the status of maritime development in celebration of the 14th Ocean Day and the significance of the designation of Ocean Day?
Answer: Korea is ranked 12th in the world in the maritime sector. In particular, the nation has already reached the levels of advanced countries in such industries as shipping, ports and shipbuilding. Korea plans to maintain and improve a competitive edge by making the most of the existing equipment and knowhow in the shipping, ports and shipbuilding areas while boosting investments in maritime environment preservation and maritime science and technology so that the maritime sector can take the lead in national development.
It was in 1996 that Ocean Day was designated as a government ceremonial day to commemorate the establishment of trading hub Cheonghaejin by Jang Bogo on May 31. This year marks the 14th Ocean Day. The sea, a treasure of ecological and natural resources, is perceived not only as a driving force behind green growth, but also a space to enhance a forward-looking spirit among young people and provide pleasure and dreams to the people. Marking Ocean Day is designed to publicize the significance of the seas and contribute to making Korea a maritime powerhouse.
Q: Will you tell us about policies to promote maritime culture?
A: The government performs a variety of activities designed to promote maritime education and awareness of the sea. It operates maritime educational pilot schools designed to instill young people with awareness of the sea while distributing 10,000 copies of maritime educational material every year to primary and secondary schools as well as relevant organizations. A maritime experience program for youth serves as an opportunity for young people to experience and learn about the sea first-hand.
The Korean Sea Photo Exhibition and Korean Sea Literature Prize, celebrating the fourth and third anniversary this year respectively, are assessed to have laid a solid foundation for maritime culture and arts.
A project to review and assess Jang Bogo, marking the 10th anniversary this year, designed to set guidance for exploring great men in the maritime field, has contributed to boosting public awareness of great men of the sea.
The 4th National Maritime Sports Competition will be held in Tongyeong in August to enhance public affinity of marine leisure and marine sports, and the projected National Maritime Museum will be inaugurated to spread maritime culture. The National Maritime Museum Project, which will break ground in Busan in 2012, is expected to play an essential role in the spread of maritime culture in Korea.




















Q: Will you elaborate on Yeosu's preparations to host the International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012?
A: The Expo is one of the world's biggest human festivals, together with the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea is slated for May 12 through Aug. 12, 2012, under the theme "The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities."Approximately 100 countries will participate in the exposition, with about 8 million spectators expected from Korea and abroad.
A special act on supporting Expo 2012 Yeosu was enacted in March 2008 and the Organizing Committee of Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea was inaugurated the following month. A master plan for Expo 2012 Yeosu was established in November of the same year to build a preparatory system for holding the exposition.
The government has formed its own support committee to muster support from each government agency, while the National Assembly established a support system by forming an ad hoc committee for providing support to the exposition. Based on institutional support systems, such projects as ones on the construction of the expo site and an expo town, as well as the expansion of such infrastructure as the improvement of approaches to the expo site are now underway without a hitch.
Compensation for appropriating private land for the construction of the exposition site will be complete by the end of May, and the actual construction will begin in July. Construction of exhibition facilities will be done in stages starting from the end of this year together with that of the exposition site.
The Korea National Housing Corp. will simultaneously begin site leveling and construction of the projected Expo Town in the first half of 2010 after completing its compensation process. A project on a parking lot for transit passengers will break ground this coming November.
Q: Will you tell us about the status and plans to tap deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide minerals and water from the deep sea?
A: The deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide minerals development projects are designed to secure a stable supply of natural resources in order to brace for the uncertainty of minerals demand and supply in the long-term perspective.
Korea made a splash in the field by exploring a wholly-owned manganese nodule mining block covering 75,000 sq. km in the open deep-sea bed of the Pacific Ocean in 2002 and was awarded the right to explore a hydrothermal sulfide minerals mining block covering 19,000 sq. km within the exclusive economic zone of Tonga in March 2008.
This June, a system of combining concentrated light and a hydraulic pumping system will be test-operated in a deep-sea territorial area at a depth of 100 meters near Hupo in the East Sea.
Efforts to aggressively tap the hydrothermal sulfide minerals industry is likely to pick up speed as the government and four companies, including Samsung Heavy Industries and Construction, plan to participate in a joint exploration and feasibility study during the period between 2009 and 2011.
A legal and institutional foundation was established in February 2008 to industrialize deep-sea water resources. The government plans to work out a master plan for developing deep-sea water resources by October in order to lay a foundation for the stable utilization and stable preservation of deep-sea water resources.
Eight water intake areas ― five in Gangwon Province and three in North Gyeongsang Province ― have been designated so far. Seven deep-sea water development licenses have been issued to five companies and organizations in Gangwon Province and two in North Gyeongsang Province to produce a total of 30 deep-sea water brands.
A public notice on an additional license will be released in the first half of the year after designating an additional intake area in Jeungsan, Samcheok. The government plans to redouble its efforts to provide support and continue to manage resources in order to further the development of the deep-sea water resources industry.
Q: Will you tell us about steps to strengthen our territorial rights over Dokdo?
A: The government enacted the Act on the Sustainable Use of Dokdo in May 2005 and established its own five-year master plan in May 2006, upon which an action plan for each year has been established and implemented.
Last year, 8.4 billion won was spent to implement 14 projects, including the one on the construction of a ship in use for managing the islands, in order to ensure sustainable use and protection of the islands without a hitch. As Japanese textbooks recently carried Japan's territorial claims over Dokdo, the National Assembly, the press, local governments such as Gyeongsanbuk-do and Ullung County and ministries of the central government made suggestions amid public concern over how to react to Japan's territorial claim.
As a result, 18 more projects related to Dokdo have been explored and confirmed. The additional projects will be added to the master plan on Dokdo and implemented in stages and on schedule.
In particular, such projects as the one on the construction of a Dokdo on-site management office, which have gained enough public consensus, will be carried out starting this year. Other relatively bigger projects will likely be translated into action after conducting an environmental feasibility study of the islands, designated as natural protection zones, and establishing a master plan mustering enough public concern. nw

Joo Sung-ho, director-general of the Maritime Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The Korean government takes steps to strengthen its territorial right over Dokdo. A document showing that Dokdo is not part of Japan's territory was found in Japan early this year.