Despite being a leader in the building of large ships and a front-runner in the information technology sector, South Korea plays little part in the large leisure yachts industry.
That is set to change following the announcement that the government there, is to invest around US$20 million over the next five years. The funds will be used to support research and development that can allow local shipyards to enter the global luxury mega yacht market.
The government believes that many of the small and medium shipyards in the country could switch to building such vessels but are at the moment generally not up to the challenge of making the kind of investment in related R&D.
The ministry said it wants to have a blueprint for such yachts in nine months with related technology and know-how being acquired afterward so a prototype boat can be launched in five years.
The technology will then be shared with yards that can use it as reference for their own boats.
Two students from South Korea are expected to attend this years Masters Degree Course in Yacht Design at the Politecnico di Milano
[via Superyacht News]