Controversy over Korea’s plan to use Arctic shipping routes is resurfacing, as HMM employees question its feasibility while protesting the government’s attempt to relocate the shipping company’s headquarters from Seoul to Busan. Ahead of the June 3 local elections and the appointment of a new oceans and fisheries minister, the government is expected to face growing challenges to the plan, a key reason President Lee Jae Myung has pushed to move the ministry and major shipping firms to the southeastern port city. Although the government has stressed the need to take preemptive steps to secure a competitive edge in developing shorter alternatives to the Suez Canal for Asia-Europe trade, opponents have pointed to the global reluctance to use Arctic routes. “As shipping industry insiders, we are well aware that the diplomatic and economic feasibilities of Arctic shipping routes have not yet been verified,” an HMM union member said during a rally in front of the company’s headquarters on March 11. The HMM union cited major global shipping companies that have pledged not to use Arct