Hanwha Eyes Jeju as Strategic Hub for Space, Defense, and Tourism

[Korea Financial Times, Shin Haeju] Hanwha Group's future growth engines are converging on Jeju Island. With the completion of Hanwha Systems' private space center, Hanwha Ocean's establishment of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) base, and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts' large-scale tourism complex development taking shape, Jeju is poised to emerge as the group's new strategic outpost.

From satellite mass production to naval vessel maintenance

The "Jeju Space Center," the heart of Hanwha Group's space business, has completed preparations for full-scale operation. Built by Hanwha Systems in Hawon-dong, Seogwipo City, Jeju, the center is South Korea's largest private satellite production facility, spanning approximately 30,000 square meters—equivalent to four soccer fields.

Completed in December last year, the facility will produce up to 100 satellites annually starting this year, focusing on mass production of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for Earth observation. The company plans to build the entire value chain of the satellite industry—from development and production to control and image analysis—centered around Jeju.

Kim Seung-youn, Chairman of Hanwha Group, who visited the Jeju Space Center on the 8th of last month, emphasized, "The Jeju Space Center is not just a business site, but the present and future of Hanwha's grand dream toward space. It must be reborn as an advance base for South Korea's space industry."

In particular, Jeju's geographic characteristic as South Korea's southernmost point enables optimal satellite launch angles, making it the only region in the country where both satellite manufacturing and launching are possible. The ability to minimize the distance between production facilities and launch sites is considered a core competitive advantage.

At sea, Hanwha Ocean is making active moves. On the 30th of last month, Hanwha Ocean held the "Jeju MRO Future Road-Open Innovation Seminar" with Jeju City, exploring the possibility of creating a Northeast Asian ship service hub utilizing Jeju's geopolitical location.

Hanwha Ocean envisions connecting Jeju's geographic strengths linking the Pacific, China, and Southeast Asia with port and maritime infrastructure, based on its next-generation MRO technology that combines special vessel design and construction capabilities with artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and condition-based maintenance.

In particular, Jeju's transportation environment connected by sea and air is analyzed to have the potential to become a key base for defense MRO business, which requires timely response to emergency maintenance needs. Synergy is also expected as a promotional complex showcasing advanced MRO technology through industry-academia cooperation with local universities and linkage with tourism resources.

Promoting 'Aewol Forest' development with KRW 1.7 trillion investment

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, led by Vice President Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Chairman Kim Seung-youn, is pursuing the development of "Aewol Forest," a large-scale tourism complex in the mid-mountain area of Aewol-eup, Jeju. The project entity, Aewol Forest PFV, is led by Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, which holds a 62% stake. Igis Asset Management holds 18%, IBK Investment & Securities 10%, and Hanwha Investment & Securities 10%.

This mega-project, which will invest a total of KRW 1.7 trillion by 2036, involves creating 1,090 accommodation units, a theme park, workation lounge, and more on a 1.25 million square meter site. When the first phase is completed in 2031, it will include a "Ghibli Theme Park."

What's noteworthy is that Aewol Forest will serve not only as a leisure facility but also as a future mobility hub. The business plan includes a UAM Vertiport (Urban Air Mobility vertical takeoff and landing facility) being promoted by the 8th popularly elected Jeju Provincial Government. Last year, Jeju was selected as a budget-supported project in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "UAM Regional Demonstration Project" competition, actively pursuing UAM commercialization.

However, concerns are also mounting. The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) and regional councils issued a statement calling for the project's suspension, stating, "The act of destroying the mid-mountain zone at 300-430 meters above sea level is reckless administration that damages Jeju's ecological buffer zone."

They continued to criticize, "Supplying water to large corporations by building a new water treatment plant with residents' tax money in an area where tap water supply is impossible is clearly preferential treatment," adding, "Large-scale development within the Aewol area will inevitably cause not only destruction of green areas but also long-term and cumulative environmental damage such as groundwater depletion, increased wastewater, and disruption of wildlife habitats."

Shin Haeju (hjs0509@fntimes.com)