Hanjin Group opened its creative economy innovation center in Incheon on Wednesday, hoping to develop the city into a distribution hub of Northeast Asia utilizing advanced shipping technologies.
As part of the center, Hanjin created a fund worth 159 billion won ($138 million), with about 94 billion won to be used for loans to companies starting smart distribution businesses.
President Park Geun-hye, Hanjin Group Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok attended the opening ceremony, held at the center’s location in Songdo, Incheon.
“The government hopes the center will successfully combine Incheon’s excellent distribution infrastructure and geographic advantage with the expertise of global distribution strong house Hanjin to elevate Korea’s small and venture businesses globally,” said President Park Geun-hye in her congratulatory speech at the center’s opening ceremony in Incheon.
The new Incheon center will mainly focus on helping small venture firms develop smart distribution management systems and attract new investments.
Hanjin Group, the owner of Hanjin Shipping and Korean Air, will lead the way in combining its distribution system expertise with experienced tech firms like Cisco Systems, as well as global start-up accelerator SparkLabs.