Four Districts Including Bitgreen Industrial Complex and Energy Valley Designated as 'Gwangju Economic Free Zone'

Creating a Turning Point for Investment Attraction through Tax Relief and Regulatory Easing to Improve Business Environment

Effect of Production 10.3641 Trillion Won, Added Value 3.244 Trillion Won, Employment 57,496

Mayor Lee: "Including All Key Industrial Complexes, Investment Attraction and Ripple Effects Will Be Significant"

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is delivering a greeting at the Economic Free Zone Committee meeting related to the official designation of the Economic Free Zone held on the morning of the 3rd at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's main conference room in Sejong City. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Free Economic Zone, the first pledge of Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju Metropolitan City and a key project promoted by Gwangju City, was officially designated on the 3rd.

The Gwangju Free Economic Zone encompasses future-oriented automobile, artificial intelligence, and smart energy industrial complexes, which Gwangju is focusing on as future strategic industries, and it is expected to significantly increase investment attraction and promote groundbreaking development in related industries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, after consultations with related central government departments and deliberation by the Free Economic Zone Committee, officially designated four districts (▲Future-oriented Automobile Industrial District - Bitgreen National Industrial Complex ▲Smart Energy Industrial District I - Energy Valley General Industrial Complex ▲Smart Energy Industrial District II - Dochim National Industrial Complex ▲AI Convergence District - Advanced District 3) totaling 4.371㎢ as a Free Economic Zone on the 3rd.

This designation of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone was approved by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Free Economic Zone Committee after Gwangju City established and applied for a plan to foster eco-friendly automobiles, energy, and AI industries capable of innovative growth by domestic and foreign companies, centered on Bitgreen Industrial Complex, Energy Valley, and Advanced District 3, in accordance with the Ministry's 2nd Basic Plan for Free Economic Zones.

Once designated as a Free Economic Zone, various incentives such as exemptions from labor and management-related regulations, and reductions in local taxes and customs duties depending on the scale of investment, will be provided.

Additionally, national funding will be supported for operating expenses of the Free Economic Zone Authority, investment attraction costs, research and development expenses, and infrastructure such as access roads to the Free Economic Zone, water and sewage, and waste treatment facilities.

The Gwangju Free Economic Zone has set the vision of “a win-win and AI-based convergence new industry hub,” aiming to reorganize Gwangju’s future food industry structure based on “Gwangju-type jobs” and “AI,” proactively responding to the rapidly changing industrial structure due to the 4th Industrial Revolution.

With this designation, Gwangju City has created an important turning point to leap into a business-friendly and prosperous Gwangju by integrating industrial innovation contents such as Gwangju-type jobs and the AI industry into the framework of a Free Economic Zone.

Key development plans for each district include the ‘Future-oriented Automobile Industrial District,’ which will advance autonomous driving and electronic components technology using AI technology together with Gwangju Global Motors, a Gwangju-type job project, and establish an eco-friendly car parts cluster and an eco-friendly car parts certification center to make it a mecca for eco-friendly automobiles.

The ‘Smart Energy Industrial Districts I and II’ will focus on the energy ICT convergence sector, utilizing and linking AI technology to enhance energy efficiency and specialize in the smart grid sector, fostering a smart convergence energy new industry.

Along with energy technology advancement, it plans to induce quantitative expansion of the energy industry by attracting companies using the energy convergence complex and policy tools of the Free Economic Zone.

The ‘AI Convergence District’ will promote quantitative expansion and qualitative advancement of industries through AI technology convergence by core industries centered on the AI industrial convergence complex, and focus on fostering the healthcare sector by integrating big data analysis technology and management platform construction technology into future core industries such as automobiles, energy, and biomaterial component industries.

Location Map of Gwangju Economic Free Zone

Gwangju City is aiming to open the ‘Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority’ in January next year by completing preliminary administrative procedures such as consulting with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, obtaining approval for organization and personnel, and enacting or revising ordinances and regulations.

The Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority is expected to achieve substantial investment attraction results by forming an industry-specific customized investment attraction organization and hiring professionals to proactively respond to domestic and foreign company attraction, thereby enhancing expertise and efficiency in investment attraction.

Centered on the newly established Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority, the four districts and adjacent innovation institutions will be integrated and organically linked to build an industry-academia-research innovation ecosystem, which is expected to become a new turning point for investment attraction in Gwangju.

Taking advantage of the Free Economic Zone designation, Gwangju City plans to steadily implement a global new industry hub strategy through the creation of an innovation ecosystem and attract a total investment of 1.6279 trillion KRW by 2027.

The Future-oriented Automobile Industrial District and Smart Energy Industrial Districts I and II plan to attract related companies in connection with Gwangju Global Motors and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), while the AI Convergence District plans to strengthen technological cooperation with Silicon Valley and attract world-class research institutes to support new technology and product development research for small and medium enterprises and startups in the Gwangju area.

Looking at other Free Economic Zones, the Incheon Free Economic Zone and Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone, designated in 2003, have attracted about 80 and 130 foreign-invested companies respectively, achieving foreign direct investments of 12.8 billion USD and 2.9 billion USD, leading investment attraction and innovative growth.

Gwangju City expects that the designation of the Free Economic Zone will generate production inducement effects of 10.3641 trillion KRW, added value inducement effects of 3.244 trillion KRW, and employment inducement effects of 57,496 jobs.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “This designation of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone comprehensively covers all core leading industrial complexes that guarantee Gwangju’s future, such as future-oriented automobiles, artificial intelligence, and energy, so the investment attraction inducement and job ripple effects will be very significant,” and added, “The designation as a Free Economic Zone is expected to further accelerate the promotion of projects such as Gwangju-type jobs, AI clusters, and Energy Valley that have been pursued so far.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.