Gwangju Station Selected as 'Urban Regeneration Innovation District National Pilot Zone'

By 2025, 1.2 trillion won invested... Expected to become the 'Largest Startup Complex in Honam Region'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The area around Gwangju Station will be reborn as the 'largest startup complex in the Honam region' by 2025, with urban regeneration projects such as ▲economic base-type urban regeneration New Deal project ▲urban regeneration innovation district ▲complex development being promoted, and a total project cost of about 1.2 trillion KRW invested.

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced on the 21st, "Gwangju Station has been finally selected as a national pilot district for the urban regeneration innovation district at the Urban Regeneration Special Committee chaired by the Prime Minister."

The mayor explained, "With Gwangju Station confirmed as a 'national pilot district for urban regeneration innovation district,' three major mega-projects are being promoted: the 'Gwangju Station economic base-type urban regeneration New Deal project' initiated in 2018 to develop Gwangju Station as a new economic hub for creative cultural industries, and the complex development project. These are expected to generate a production inducement effect of 2 trillion KRW and create about 16,000 jobs."

Gwangju Station used to serve as the central axis of transportation, logistics, and industry in the Honam region, but since the 2000s, with the relocation of public institutions such as Gwangju City Hall and the unification of the KTX line at Gwangju Songjeong Station, the surrounding population and businesses have decreased, and buildings have aged, leading to rapid decline.

Since the 7th term of the local government, Gwangju City has been actively promoting urban regeneration projects to restore the status of the Gwangju Station area as a past urban growth axis, revitalize the local commercial district, attract population inflow, and develop it into a new economic hub.

The Gwangju Station economic base-type New Deal project aims to revitalize the Gwangju Station area, where passenger numbers and floating population sharply declined after the KTX line closure and the local commercial district stagnated, by constructing facilities to support startups and business growth, providing housing support for entrepreneurs, improving green spaces and the environment, and fostering the area as a regional hub for residential, commercial, distribution, and office functions.

Gwangju City is investing 50 billion KRW by 2024 to promote five pilot projects, including the construction of 'Station G,' a hub space for youth startup support, the 'Pedestrian Environment Improvement Project' for the safety and convenience of pedestrians around Gwangju Station, and the 'Pureun-eum Center,' a community space utilizing railway land between Gwangju Station and Pureun-gil Park.

Since 2018, Gwangju Station has been selected as an urban regeneration New Deal project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, with a total project cost of 266.3 billion KRW (25 billion KRW national funds, 25 billion KRW city funds, 216.3 billion KRW linked to ministries). Currently, five pilot projects are underway, and the core project 'Station G,' which supports prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs with a project cost of 35 billion KRW, will begin construction in the first half of next year.

Additionally, preparations are underway to start construction in the first half of next year for the 'Eoullim Factory,' a manufacturing support facility for local small business owners, and the 'Pedestrian Environment Improvement Project' around Gwangju Station.

The Gwangju Station Innovation District national pilot district is a project to cluster startups and innovative companies centered on green, digital, and startup sectors, creating an innovation hub combining industry, culture, and residence on a 14,000㎡ (4,235 pyeong) site behind Gwangju Station, with a total project cost of 168.8 billion KRW invested over five years starting next year.

Gwangju City plans to establish a large-scale, systematized Gwangju-style startup ecosystem in the Gwangju Station area to nurture future core industries and increase the survival rate of startup companies. In line with the government's green-digital new industry promotion policy, it will focus on fostering startups in key regional industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), eco-friendly energy and mobility, and 5G-ICT (digital), creating the largest startup town in the Honam region.

Following 'Station G,' through the urban regeneration innovation district project, by 2025, Gwangju City plans to sequentially establish ▲'Corporate Innovation Growth Center' to support the scale-up of startups and supply living SOC ▲'Complex R&D Center' for advanced R&D support ▲'Social and Cultural Innovation Center,' a platform for social economy enterprises and cultural complex space ▲'Innovation District-linked Public Housing' to provide comfortable living conditions for workers in the startup cluster, thereby creating a comprehensive and core global startup cluster.

The 'Corporate Innovation Growth Center' is a space to support the growth and advancement of senior companies in their 5th to 10th years of startup. It will systematically support companies to grow into prospective unicorns by focusing on commercialization and fund support for global expansion, IPOs, and M&As. To create a pleasant working environment, living SOC facilities such as care centers and living culture centers will be supplied simultaneously.

The 'Complex R&D Center' plans to secure the technological competitiveness of promising startups by hosting local and external research institutions (branches) and corporate research institutes, supporting prototype production and technology certification. Additional national funds will be secured through a Ministry of SMEs and Startups public offering project in the first half of next year.

The 'Social and Cultural Innovation Center' will integrate social economy enterprise support organizations and create shared workshops accessible to citizen participation, promoting exchange and growth of social enterprises through full-cycle support. Additionally, a small permanent performance hall and conference hall will be established as a complex cultural space.

Also, the 'Innovation District-linked Public Housing' is a public project implemented by LH, planned to supply about 140 units to provide comfortable living conditions for entrepreneurs and workers, especially newlyweds, working in the Gwangju Station startup cluster.

Gwangju City plans to promote the innovation district national pilot district project through organic cooperation with related startup organizations. Functionally, the early startup phase will be intensively supported by the Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center, post-startup incubation and growth stages will be handled by Gwangju Technopark, and technical support and human resource development will be promoted mainly by major local universities such as Chonnam National University.

Gwangju City plans to actively attract investment for startups through cooperation with universities, research institutions, corporate support organizations, and investment institutions inside and outside the region, and plans to expand into the Gwangju TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) Town following Seoul and Daejeon.

In addition to the public-led economic base-type urban regeneration New Deal project and the innovation district national pilot project, Gwangju City will jointly promote a complex development project with KORAIL on the space secured by relocating and rearranging railway facilities within Gwangju Station.

The Gwangju Station complex development project will be promoted as a station area development project combining transportation, commerce, industry, and residence on a 200,000㎡ site by 2025, investing 749.3 billion KRW of private capital without using Gwangju City's budget.

Gwangju Station is located in the downtown area, serving not only as a transportation hub but also adjacent to the National Asian Culture Complex, Biennale, Gwangju Kia Champions Field, and large department stores. Currently, nine redevelopment projects are actively underway, and major universities and innovation institutions, which are the foundation for startup growth, are located here, making it easy to interconnect residential, social, cultural, startup institutions, and commercial areas.

The city plans to maximize geographical advantages to create a global-level startup cluster and, based on this, promote a complex development project with KORAIL using the development site generated by relocating and rearranging railway facilities within Gwangju Station, actively inducing private investment.

To resolve regional imbalance and resident inconveniences caused by the north-south division due to Gwangju Station over the past 50 years, the city plans to connect north-south communication roads through the complex development project and link the downtown forest path, Pureun-gil, to enable pedestrian access to Gwangju Station from the old downtown area.

Along with these three mega-projects, Gwangju City plans to restore Gwangju Station as a transportation hub by improving accessibility and enhancing convenience for local residents through projects such as the urban railway Line 2, the Dalbit Inland Railway connecting Gwangju and Daegu within an hour's living zone, and the electrification of the Gyeongjeon Line (Gwangju Station to Suncheon).

The city explained that the selection for this public contest project was achieved not only through Gwangju City's persistent efforts but also through continuous collaboration of related institution TF cooperation systems for innovation district selection, including support from local assemblyman Jo O-seop (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap), Gwangju Technopark Foundation, Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center, and Chonnam National University.

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju City, said, "The large-scale urban regeneration project for the Gwangju Station area aims to revitalize the depressed old downtown and create a new growth hub for Gwangju. It is a very innovative and bold project that can realize the new future of 1.5 million Gwangju citizens and the dreams of our youth." He added, "Balanced development between the old downtown and new town areas, as well as the realization of 'AI-centered city Gwangju,' where anyone can start a business and realize their dreams with just technology and ideas, will be the driving force."

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