'Six Small Giant Special Zones Including 'Regulation-Free' Seoul Hongneung Designated'

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The government has designated additional Small and Strong Innovation Zones (Gangso Special Zones) to promote the commercialization of public technologies developed mainly by universities and government-funded research institutes. The commercialization of technologies in various fields such as digital healthcare, next-generation batteries, intelligent solar power, next-generation automotive parts, smart manufacturing systems, and electric vehicle parts and materials is expected.

In particular, the government has established legal requirements to allow new technologies to be demonstrated and developed without regulations within research and development special zones, fostering these zones as cradles of new technology creation.

The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed these details at the 34th Research and Development Special Zone Committee meeting held on the 27th.

Designation of 6 Small and Strong Innovation Zones

First, six Small and Strong Innovation Zones were designated. These zones serve as hubs for the commercialization of small-scale public technologies. They can receive various supports such as technology commercialization funds, infrastructure, tax benefits, and regulatory exemptions. Last year, four regions were selected.

This year, the government designated four Small and Strong Innovation Zones that maximize the technological capabilities of key research institutions located within the regions to enable technology commercialization. These include digital healthcare (Seoul Hongneung), next-generation batteries (Ulsan Ulju), intelligent solar power (Jeonnam Naju), and next-generation automotive parts (Chungnam Cheonan-Asan). Additionally, smart manufacturing systems (Gyeongbuk Gumi) and electric vehicle parts and materials (Jeonbuk Gunsan) will be developed as Small and Strong Innovation Zones based on public-private win-win cooperation through collaboration with local private demand sources.

Moreover, the government established principles for designating Small and Strong Innovation Zones this time. In the metropolitan area, only one Small and Strong Innovation Zone can be designated per metropolitan city. The maximum number of designated zones was limited to 17. Furthermore, it was made possible to revoke zone status through comprehensive evaluations of the Small and Strong Innovation Zones.

Establishment of New Technology Demonstration Testbeds

The government also established a legal foundation to utilize research and development special zones as testbeds for new technology demonstrations. Accordingly, it can predict regulations that may arise during the subsequent technology commercialization process from the initial stage of technology transfer and grant exemptions for all regulations occurring at every stage of research and development.

Through the designated zones, the government expects economic ripple effects such as attracting 1,767 companies, creating 13,771 jobs, and increasing sales by 34.2 trillion KRW by 2025.

Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "In a situation where the regional economy is generally struggling due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we will operate the newly designated Small and Strong Innovation Zones so that they can function as growth engines to overcome the regional economic crisis."

Regarding the new technology demonstration testbeds, he explained, "Before the system is implemented, we will gather various opinions from zone members and create a system that allows researchers in the zones to focus solely on research and development without any obstacles to creating new technologies."

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