President Moon Jae-in on Thursday attended a ceremony in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province held to mark an agreement by Hyundai Heavy Industries to restart operations at its Gunsan shipyard.

Coming ahead of the resumption next year, the event was held to invigorate the shipyard officials and underscore the government's continued support.

Moon's visit to the Jeolla Province region carried noticeable political connotations, coming just two weeks before the presidential election.

Moon has visited Gunsan five times thus far. His last visit was one year ago in February of last year, when he visited a factory producing low dead space syringes used in COVID-19 vaccine shots.

The shipyard shuttered in July 2017 amid a protracted recession in the shipbuilding industry with scant global orders.

After the closure, negotiations continued between the company, the central government and city and provincial officials. Hyundai eventually decided to re-operate the shipyard from January of next year.

President Moon expressed joy, saying Gunsan is welcoming a spring season of restoration and renewal. He said the shipyard will play a significant role in reviving local economies, with the potential to generate as much as two trillion won in economic activity when it is fully operational.