GANGNEUNG CITY ENG - 솔향강릉

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Fostering natural product biotechnology and advanced materials as new growth engines and laying the groundwork for creating an industrial logistics city

​ A candidate site for a national industrial complex for the natural product biotech industry developed in Geumgwang-ri, Gujeong-myeon by Gangneung City was designated as Special Opportunity Development Zone for National Industrial Complex for Natural Product Biotech Industry x (610,000㎡) at the Expo for Local Era in 2024, which was visited by President Yoon Seok-yeol on Wednesday (November 6). 

  It was the only one out of the 14 candidate sites selected on March 15 last year to be designated as Special Opportunity Development Zone, indicating that it will likely pass the preliminary feasibility review for the construction of a national industrial complex, which will in turn pave the way for revitalizing the local economy and creating high-quality jobs in Gangneung. 

 In April, a master plan for the Special Opportunity Development Zone, which is expected to generate KRW 7.4 trillion in production and create 47,000 jobs, formulated based on the investment plans (investment of more than KRW 193 billion and creation of more than 540 jobs) of 13 companies related to natural product-based biotechnology and new materials, including Pharma Research, a local anchor company in the natural product biotech industry, and Micoceramics, an anchor company specializing in advanced ceramic materials for semiconductor parts, was submitted to the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province.

 The candidate site was designated following a document review by the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, on-site consulting, and deliberation and resolution of Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development after a working-level committee meeting.

 Special opportunity development zones are designated in areas outside the Seoul Capital Area, and large-scale investment is attracted by offering tax cuts (income tax, corporate tax, inheritance tax, local tax, etc.), financial aid, regulatory exemptions, and improved settlement conditions. When a local government submits a designation application after selecting a candidate site in consultation with companies planning to make an investment, the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development deliberates and reaches a resolution, and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy designates the site as a special opportunity development zone.

 Assemblyman Kwon Seong-dong, representing the district concerned, as well as business organizations such as the Gangneung City Prosperity Association and the Gangneung Chamber of Commerce and Industry dedicated their efforts to obtain the designation. At the designated site, there are plans to build the base for the growth of the natural product biotech and advanced ceramic material industries and to pave the foundation for the high-tech industries of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, which help attract companies to the region.

 Within two years of the 8th City Administration taking office, the government’s selection of a candidate site for a national industrial complex for natural product biotechnology to foster high-tech industries and the designation as a Special Opportunity Development Zone along with the designation of Special Educational Development Zone are expected help overcome the population decline and revitalize the local economy.

 Mayor Kim Hong-kyu of Gangneung said, “We’ll use the designation as Special Opportunity Development Zone as an opportunity to establish a one-stop, eco-friendly system for research, demonstration, and production as an advance base for the natural product biotech and advanced material industries, and promote it as a key base for living, working, and culture by building various types of infrastructure and creating ideal settlement conditions so that it can be established as a mecca for the convergence of natural products and cutting-edge materials.”

  He also emphasized that “as it is time to break away from the existing tourism-oriented industrial structure and attract investment, we will endeavor to revitalize the Port of Okgye, foster new growth engines through the construction of a national industrial complex for natural product biotechnology, and utilize the geopolitical strengths of Gangneung City to turn it into a leading industrial logistics city in the East Sea area and a city that grows together with companies in the era of decentralization and balanced development.” ​