A Study on the Activation of Incheon-Jeju Marine Logistics: Centering on Incheon Port

On December 10, 2021, the ‘Incheon-Jeju’ ferry started its first regular service after 7 years and 8 months. The ferry, which had been cut off after the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014, was reopened. The resumption of the ‘Incheon-Jeju’ waterway is expected to revive the local economy of the Incheon coastal pier and revitalize the logistics business of the Incheon coastal pier due to the increase in the supply of Jeju agricultural and marine products. In the meantime, the flow of logistics from Jeju to the Seoul metropolitan area via Honam is expected to lead directly from Jeju to Incheon Port, reducing logistics costs and resolving the distortion of logistics, thereby opening the door to logistics business through maritime transport. In addition, Incheon Port Authority expects that the annual number of coastal passengers will recover to 1 million, and it is expected to increase the number of coastal passengers, revitalize the area around the coastal pier and revitalize the local economy by contributing to the expansion of Incheon Port infrastructure and revitalization of coastal tourism. Accordingly, it is necessary to study a plan to revitalize the local economy according to the increase in maritime freight volume between Incheon and Jeju. It is time for policy proposals to revitalize the Incheon regional economy due to the increase in the Incheon-Jeju maritime trade volume. Therefore, in this study, the current status of maritime logistics between Incheon and Jeju before and after the Sewol ferry disaster was investigated, and the ‘total employment of An analysis model was developed for ‘inducing effect’ and ‘economic inducement effect’. Based on this research model, “total employment induction effect” and “economic inducement effect” caused by the increase in maritime transport volume were calculated and “how much the Incheon local economy is activated” simulation was performed. In other words, after the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, only about 5-6% of Jeju Samdasoo and Jeju agricultural products entered Incheon Port, and on December 10, 2021, sea transportation from Jeju → Incheon Port was resumed and about 60 to 65% of Jeju Samdasoo and Jeju agricultural products were resumed. It is expected to flow into Incheon Port again. Therefore, by estimating the change in future cargo volume for the next three to five years, such as 2022 to 2025, the number of jobs created by the total employment induction effect and the economic inducement effect were calculated. In other words, when the vitalization of maritime logistics between Incheon and Jeju is normalized, Jeju Samdasoo, Jeju agricultural products, etc. will flow into Jeju → Incheon Port, and the volume of marine cargo is expected to increase from a minimum of 1.45 million tons to a maximum of 215 tons. It is expected that the total employment inducement effect will occur from a minimum of 1,629 people to a maximum of 2,618 people. In addition, it was analyzed that there was an economic inducement effect of at least 106 billion won to a maximum of 170.3 billion won due to an increase in the amount of sea freight flowing from Jeju to Incheon.