Port shipments handled at 29 trading ports in South Korea in the first quarter of 2010 rose 12.3 percent from the same period a year before to 281 million tonnes, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port saw a 59 percent increase on the back of Hyundai Steel's operation; the Port of Busan and the Port of Gwangyang posted increases of 26.7 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.