Announcement of Support Projects for Free Economic Zones Including Incheon Next Year... 250 Million KRW for Continuous Cooperation and 300 Million KRW for Capacity Building Each

2021 Economic Free Zone Innovation Ecosystem Support Project Announcement
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy "From Economic Free Zone Infrastructure Development to Expanded Individual Support for Resident Companies"

Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 22nd that it plans to invest support funds of approximately KRW 250 million per ongoing collaboration project for individual companies and around KRW 300 million per business capacity enhancement project next year, centered on nine Free Economic Zone Authorities including Incheon.

The Ministry stated that it will announce the 'Free Economic Zone Innovation Ecosystem Creation Support Project' on the 23rd next year. A total project budget of KRW 4.2 billion (KRW 2.975 billion from the national government, KRW 375 million from local governments, and KRW 900 million from the private sector) will be invested next year.

Contents and support scale of the 2021 'Economic Free Zone Innovation Ecosystem Creation Support Project'. (Data provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

Until now, infrastructure budgets such as access and arterial roads have been supported, but next year, support for resident companies within the Free Economic Zones will be provided for the first time.

To develop the Free Economic Zones into global hubs for new industries, an ecosystem among innovation entities will be created, and based on this, support tailored to corporate demand will be promoted.

The Innovation Ecosystem Creation Support Project is divided into the 'Innovation Cluster Foundation Creation' sector and the 'Corporate Business Capacity Enhancement' sector.

First, networking will be established between universities and corporate support institutions and companies, centered on the nine Free Economic Zone Authorities.

Key industries targeted for attraction in economic free zones. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

A budget of approximately KRW 250 million will be provided for projects that establish a collaboration system to continuously support companies in key industries attracted to each Free Economic Zone.

The Corporate Business Capacity Enhancement project will invest around KRW 300 million per project, focusing on resident companies in each Free Economic Zone.

The goal is to provide practical assistance by implementing comprehensive support needed throughout corporate activities, such as regulatory special case support and commercialization strategy establishment.

This support project will be posted on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) websites starting on the 23rd.

Applications will be accepted until the 29th of next month, and the final project operators will be selected in February next year. A video seminar with regional innovation institutions and Free Economic Zone Authorities will be held in early next month.

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