1001 Smart Cities
🇰🇷 Busan

Busan New Port West Container Terminal Phase 2-5

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 6 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

6 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Updated 22 Aug 2026 Publication date recorded for 8 sources. What changed →

Yard cranes and carriers run unsupervised; the nine ship-to-shore cranes do not, because wind and swell move the ship. And no dockworker was cut: the existing crew was moved and retrained.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🏛️ Official
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byDongwon Global Terminal Busan; quay built and owned by the Busan Port Authority
Scale🏘️ District
Cost≈KRW 1.14 trillion, incl. ≈KRW 340bn of handling equipment
FundingBusan Port Authority (state-owned)

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 9 more in Busan · 🚗 Autonomous vehicles guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

Korea's first fully automated container terminal opened at Busan New Port in April 2024: the West Container Terminal's Phase 2-5, three berths run by Dongwon Global Terminal Busan on a quay the Busan Port Authority built for about 1.14 trillion won. Yard cranes and driverless carriers work unsupervised; the nine ship-to-shore cranes are still remote-controlled by staff, because wind and swell move the ship. Most equipment is Korean-built, though 12 of the first 55 carriers came from Dutch supplier VDL. Dockworkers' unions oppose port automation; here the operator relocated and retrained an existing North Port crew rather than cutting it.

Live 📅 since 2024

📊 Impact

Three berths rated at 1.95 million TEU a year, watched by about 32 control-room staff; the operator projects 20-30% higher productivity than semi-automated berths, a forecast rather than a measured result.

🎓 Lesson

Automation and job cuts are separable. The union settlement at Busan held because an entire existing crew was moved across from an older berth and retrained, not replaced.

🚲 MobilityAutonomous vehiclesSensors & IoTConnectivity & 5G

Sources

↗ Monthly Maritime Korea — field report six months after openingPublished 30 September 2024Operator DGT, opening April 2024, 9 quay cranes, 46 yard cranes, 60 AGVs, 1,050 m quay, 20 m depth, 1.95m TEU capacity; states quay cranes are remote-controlled while yard cranes and AGVs run automatically, and carries the 20-30% productivity projection.
↗ Busan Ilbo — inside Korea's first fully automated berthPublished 1 April 2024Opening on 5 April 2024 as Busan New Port Pier 7 (West Container Terminal Phase 2-5), operator Dongwon Global Terminal Busan, control room in operation, equipment counts.
↗ MTN — report from the domestically built automated terminalPublished 4 December 2023Total project cost 1.144 trillion won, developed directly by the Busan Port Authority; initial AGV fleet of 55 units, 43 by Hyundai Rotem and 12 imported from VDL of the Netherlands; about 32 monitoring staff; a DGT executive quoted on displaced crane labour.
↗ Monthly Maritime Korea — all existing dockworkers succeeded at Phase 2-5Published 28 February 2024BPA and DGT agreement to transfer all existing workers: 260 succeeding workers, 132 of them Busan Port Transport Union members, 54 retrained on automated equipment and 9 union members trained as remote crane operators; the union cites a 2021 Korea Labor Institute estimate of 70-80% job loss from full automation.
↗ Busan Ilbo — Phase 2-5 completion and demonstrationPublished 26 October 2023Quay completed October 2023 ahead of commercial opening: 3 berths, 1,050 m, 837,237 sq m, 1.95m TEU annual capacity, about 340bn won spent on domestically made handling equipment.
Show 3 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Haesa Economy — Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2025 port statisticsPublished 29 January 2026Scale context for the host port: Busan handled 24.88 million TEU in 2025, up 2.0% on 24.40 million in 2024, with transshipment at 14.1 million TEU.
↗ WorldCargo News — Hyundai Rotem follow-up AGV orderPublished 21 July 2025Currency check, July 2025: a further AGV order takes Hyundai Rotem's cumulative delivery to DGT to 100 vehicles, confirming the terminal is operating and expanding.
↗ The Maritime Executive — Busan launches first automated container terminalPublished 7 April 2024English-language confirmation of the launch as South Korea's first automated container terminal and of the ministry's up-to-20% productivity projection.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2024. 8 of 8 sources carry a publication date, from 26 October 2023 to 29 January 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. Busan Ilbo (부산일보) · pressBusan Ilbo — Phase 2-5 completion and demonstration
  2. 머니투데이방송 (MTN) · pressMTN — report from the domestically built automated terminal
  3. Monthly Maritime Korea · pressMonthly Maritime Korea — all existing dockworkers succeeded at Phase 2-5
  4. Busan Ilbo (부산일보) · pressBusan Ilbo — inside Korea's first fully automated berth
  5. The Maritime Executive · pressThe Maritime Executive — Busan launches first automated container terminal
  6. Monthly Maritime Korea · pressMonthly Maritime Korea — field report six months after opening
  7. World Cargo News · pressWorldCargo News — Hyundai Rotem follow-up AGV order
  8. Haesa Economy · pressHaesa Economy — Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2025 port statistics

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Sources last read
  2. Entered the record
  3. Publication date recorded for 8 sources

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 6 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 6 addressable claims, 8 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 6

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-28456ff68c70421b quantitative
Korea's first fully automated container terminal opened at Busan New Port in April 2024: the West Container Terminal's Phase 2-5, three berths run by Dongwon Global Terminal Busan on a quay the Busan Port Authority built for about 1.14 trillion won
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The opening is dated 5 April 2024, as Busan New Port Pier 7 — the West Container Terminal Phase 2-5 — with the named operator and a working control room. The total project cost of 1.144 trillion won and the development directly by the port authority come from the second report, and the English-language account independently confirms the launch as South Korea's first automated container terminal.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Busan Ilbo — inside Korea's first fully automated berth
  2. MTN — report from the domestically built automated terminal
  3. The Maritime Executive — Busan launches first automated container terminal
Claim 2 clm-6bb768dcb5a2264f descriptive
Yard cranes and driverless carriers work unsupervised; the nine ship-to-shore cranes are still remote-controlled by staff, because wind and swell move the ship
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The field report six months after opening states that the quay cranes are remote-controlled while yard cranes and carriers run automatically, alongside the equipment counts: 9 quay cranes, 46 yard cranes, 60 carriers, 1,050 m of quay at 20 m depth.
Caveat
The reason given for the remote control — that wind and swell move the ship — is the operational explanation carried in the reporting, not a measured finding.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Monthly Maritime Korea — field report six months after opening
Claim 3 clm-85fa52073346f890 quantitative
Most equipment is Korean-built, though 12 of the first 55 carriers came from Dutch supplier VDL
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The initial fleet of 55 carriers comprised 43 from the Korean manufacturer and 12 imported from the Dutch supplier; about 340bn won was spent on domestically made handling equipment. A July 2025 follow-up order takes the Korean manufacturer's cumulative delivery to 100 vehicles, which also confirms the terminal is operating and expanding.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. MTN — report from the domestically built automated terminal
  2. Busan Ilbo — Phase 2-5 completion and demonstration
  3. WorldCargo News — Hyundai Rotem follow-up AGV order
Claim 4 clm-831169e9f002b4cd descriptive
Dockworkers' unions oppose port automation; here the operator relocated and retrained an existing North Port crew rather than cutting it
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The port authority and the operator agreed to transfer all existing workers: 260 succeeding workers, 132 of them union members, 54 retrained on automated equipment and 9 union members trained as remote crane operators. The union cites a 2021 labour-institute estimate of 70 to 80 per cent job loss from full automation.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Monthly Maritime Korea — all existing dockworkers succeeded at Phase 2-5
Claim 5 clm-393543fb4c3a9ba9 quantitative
Three berths rated at 1.95 million TEU a year, watched by about 32 control-room staff; the operator projects 20-30% higher productivity than semi-automated berths, a forecast rather than a measured result
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The quay was completed in October 2023 with three berths, 1,050 m and 837,237 square metres at 1.95 million TEU of annual capacity. The field report carries the 20-30 per cent productivity projection and the second report the figure of about 32 monitoring staff. The English-language account records the ministry's own up-to-20 per cent projection.
Caveat
The productivity figure is a projection, and the entry says so. The two published projections — the operator's 20-30 per cent and the ministry's up to 20 per cent — do not agree, and neither is presented as confirming the other.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Monthly Maritime Korea — field report six months after opening
  2. Busan Ilbo — Phase 2-5 completion and demonstration
  3. MTN — report from the domestically built automated terminal
  4. The Maritime Executive — Busan launches first automated container terminal
Claim 6 clm-ab72ad4f0fe069b1 descriptive
The union settlement at Busan held because an entire existing crew was moved across from an older berth and retrained, not replaced
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The transfer agreement covered all existing workers rather than a subset — 260 in total, with 54 retrained on automated equipment and 9 union members trained as remote crane operators — which is what distinguishes this case from the job-loss estimate the union itself cites.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Monthly Maritime Korea — all existing dockworkers succeeded at Phase 2-5
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-21-source-dates effective 2026-07-26 · created 2026-08-22

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:c66b18d1ca220b294eca6eccc8a5098d69a4534aa09f226290ee44bf2825e29d
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
6
of 6 claims mapped
8
source dossiers
8
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Dongwon Global Terminal Busan; quay built and owned by the Busan Port Authority
Actor types
private
Funding model
public
Funding description
Busan Port Authority (state-owned)
Cost
≈KRW 1.14 trillion, incl. ≈KRW 340bn of handling equipment
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

8 source dossiers

Monthly Maritime Korea — field report six months after opening monthlymaritimekorea.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0139ea785673b5ac
Publisher
Name not classified · monthlymaritimekorea.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-09-30
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator DGT, opening April 2024, 9 quay cranes, 46 yard cranes, 60 AGVs, 1,050 m quay, 20 m depth, 1.95m TEU capacity; states quay cranes are remote-controlled while yard cranes and AGVs run automatically, and carries the 20-30% productivity projection.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Busan Ilbo — inside Korea's first fully automated berth busan.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-abce279f1674a385
Publisher
Name not classified · busan.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-04-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Opening on 5 April 2024 as Busan New Port Pier 7 (West Container Terminal Phase 2-5), operator Dongwon Global Terminal Busan, control room in operation, equipment counts.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
MTN — report from the domestically built automated terminal news.mtn.co.kr · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-d633d3143fbb8638
Publisher
Name not classified · news.mtn.co.kr
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-12-04
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Total project cost 1.144 trillion won, developed directly by the Busan Port Authority; initial AGV fleet of 55 units, 43 by Hyundai Rotem and 12 imported from VDL of the Netherlands; about 32 monitoring staff; a DGT executive quoted on displaced crane labour.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Monthly Maritime Korea — all existing dockworkers succeeded at Phase 2-5 monthlymaritimekorea.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-e6f0d124ba3d6bf2
Publisher
Name not classified · monthlymaritimekorea.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-02-28
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

BPA and DGT agreement to transfer all existing workers: 260 succeeding workers, 132 of them Busan Port Transport Union members, 54 retrained on automated equipment and 9 union members trained as remote crane operators; the union cites a 2021 Korea Labor Institute estimate of 70-80% job loss from full automation.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Busan Ilbo — Phase 2-5 completion and demonstration busan.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-32f359d0a2c8f977
Publisher
Name not classified · busan.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-10-26
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Quay completed October 2023 ahead of commercial opening: 3 berths, 1,050 m, 837,237 sq m, 1.95m TEU annual capacity, about 340bn won spent on domestically made handling equipment.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Haesa Economy — Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2025 port statistics ihaesa.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0fd28ae9b4f6629e
Publisher
Name not classified · ihaesa.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-01-29
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Scale context for the host port: Busan handled 24.88 million TEU in 2025, up 2.0% on 24.40 million in 2024, with transshipment at 14.1 million TEU.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
WorldCargo News — Hyundai Rotem follow-up AGV order worldcargonews.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-2e7603106e4b8b60
Publisher
Name not classified · worldcargonews.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-07-21
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Currency check, July 2025: a further AGV order takes Hyundai Rotem's cumulative delivery to DGT to 100 vehicles, confirming the terminal is operating and expanding.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
The Maritime Executive — Busan launches first automated container terminal maritime-executive.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6fa3366392c094d8
Publisher
Name not classified · maritime-executive.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2024-04-07
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-22
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

English-language confirmation of the launch as South Korea's first automated container terminal and of the ministry's up-to-20% productivity projection.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇨🇳 Yangshan Port Phase IV automated container terminal · Shanghai Same recipe seven years on: Yangshan's 2017 AGVs and remote cranes, but Busan moved 260 existing dockworkers across rather than cutting. 🇨🇳 Tianjin Zero-Carbon Smart Terminal · Tianjin Tianjin's 2021 terminal added a renewable microgrid; Busan's 2024 one added a labour deal: 260 workers relocated and retrained. 🇳🇱 Port of Rotterdam IoT & Hydro/Meteo Platform · Rotterdam Rotterdam sensors the water for precise berthing; Busan automated the quay, but wind and swell keep its nine cranes remote-driven.

Explore the wider context

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📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Busan New Port West Container Terminal Phase 2-5” — Busan, South Korea. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/busan-new-port-automated-terminal/ (last verified 2026-07-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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