Building an 'Innovative City Ideal for Raising Children'... Groundbreaking of the Complex Innovation Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Jeonbuk Complex Innovation Center, equipped with various facilities such as childcare and care spaces as well as startup spaces within the innovation city, will begin construction.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 23rd that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jeonbuk Complex Innovation Center will be held on the 24th in Jeonju, Jeonbuk. This groundbreaking marks the official start of the complex innovation center project following the expansion of the Wanju-gun Complex Innovation Center in March. The ministry plans to start construction of a total of 11 complex innovation centers in 10 innovation cities nationwide by the first half of next year.

The Jeonju Innovation City Complex Innovation Center (Kids Complex Center) project involves building a center with one basement floor and three above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 5,547㎡, on a 3,816㎡ site at 1068-2 Jangdong, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju. The project budget totals 15 billion KRW, including 7.5 billion KRW from the national government, 2.25 billion KRW from the provincial government, and 5.25 billion KRW from the city government.

So far, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has expanded cultural facilities significantly to improve residential conditions in innovation cities and has implemented various policy supports to activate clusters so that innovation cities can leap forward as regional hubs.

In particular, as of the end of June, the proportion of children under 9 years old in innovation cities was 17.2%, more than double the national average of 7.9%, and the proportion of parents in their 30s and 40s was 41.0%, greatly exceeding the national average of 29.5%. Therefore, there has been a growing need to focus policies on infrastructure for children and families, such as childcare and care spaces, libraries, and swimming pools for leisure activities.

Accordingly, the ministry established the "Basic Guidelines for the Complex Innovation Center Project in Innovation Cities" in 2018 and plans to start construction of 7 to 8 complex innovation centers in innovation cities such as Jeju, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, and Gangwon within this year, and to start construction of all 11 complex innovation centers nationwide by the first half of next year and proceed with their operation.

Kim Kyuhyun, Deputy Director of the Innovation City Development Promotion Team at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "So far, through the efforts of the government, local governments, and public institutions, there have been some achievements in creating a residential environment in innovation cities." He added, "We will carefully refine and steadily implement inter-ministerial cooperative projects such as the 'Top 10 Collaborative Tasks Linked to Relocated Public Institutions,' which is part of the 'Public Institution-Led Innovation City Revitalization Plan' recently announced by related ministries."

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