[Contribution] In the era of the Northern Sea Route, Busan must rise again as a maritime capital.

Climate change caused by global warming is shaking the landscape of shipping logistics around the world. As Arctic melting accelerates, the Northern Sea Route is no longer a future possibility, but is emerging as an imminent reality. The Northern Sea Route, which can significantly shorten the sailing distance and time compared to the existing Suez Canal route, is attracting attention as a key axis in the reorganization of the global supply chain.

Currently, most of Korea's import and export volume uses the route to the Suez Canal via the East China Sea and South China Sea. However, this route overlaps with disputed waters where military and diplomatic tensions are high, such as the Taiwan Strait and the Senkaku Islands. In fact, in recent years, conflicts between China and neighboring countries have become a serious threat to the stability of maritime logistics. In this uncertain international situation, the Northern Sea Route is emerging as a new axis of the national shipping strategy beyond a simple alternative route.

Changes in the international shipping order herald a significant turning point for Busan. If the full-scale operation of the Northern Sea Route becomes a reality, Busan, which is geographically located at the gateway connecting the Northern Sea Route and Northeast Asia, can reestablish its status as a transshipment base and strategic maritime city. However, the reality of Busan has reached a point where it is mentioned as being on the verge of extinction due to problems such as population decline, weakening industrial competitiveness, and concentration in the metropolitan area. The current state of the city, which was once attracting attention as a maritime hub in Northeast Asia, is a sad situation.

What Busan needs now is not piecemeal administrative reorganization or expansion of physical infrastructure. It is time to fundamentally reorganize the ‘maritime city software,’ including smart port technology, digital shipping systems, and legal and institutional infrastructure that can handle global disputes, while maximizing the use of existing ports and logistics infrastructure.

In relation to this, President Lee Jae-myung publicly announced his intention to establish a maritime court in Busan when he was a presidential candidate. This is noteworthy in that it goes beyond a simple commitment to balanced regional development and builds a strategic judicial infrastructure to respond to global shipping competition.

In fact, without exception, the world's leading shipping hub cities such as Singapore, London, Rotterdam, and Shanghai operate specialized maritime judicial functions or independent maritime courts. The institutional foundation goes beyond just a framework for resolving disputes and operates as a core infrastructure that supports transactions and trust across the maritime economy, including ship finance, marine insurance, and international contracts.

While leading Daeryun Law Firm's overseas expansion, the author personally visited major maritime cities such as Singapore, London, and Dubai, and experienced how closely the maritime courts work with the local economic ecosystem. In particular, despite being an Islamic country, Dubai applied British common law within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), creating a legal environment in which global companies could transact with confidence. This bold decision to adapt the legal system to the outside to improve the city's competitiveness has significant implications for us as well.

The maritime court to be established in Busan should also not be limited to a simple physical installation. In order to secure its status as a global maritime city, it must be developed into an international maritime court system that faithfully reflects the standards and procedures used in international maritime transactions. If necessary, a separate area can be designated to operate a dispute resolution system based on British common law, and furthermore, a plan to develop the court into a court capable of performing functions similar to that of the International Court of Justice in Maritime Affairs can be considered.

Currently, Busan stands at the door of a historic opportunity called the Northern Sea Route. The establishment and internationalization of the Maritime Court is not simply a matter of establishing a new court, but rather establishing a new center of the Republic of Korea's maritime strategy. The sea is still Busan's future, and Busan can be the most important starting point on the road for Korea to become a maritime power again.

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[Contribution] In the era of the Northern Sea Route, Busan must stand up as a maritime capital again (link)