Gwangju City Selected as Final Site for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Urban Convergence Special Zone Pilot Project'

Creation of Urban Convergence Special Zone Linking Life, Work, and Leisure in Sangmu District

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "We Will Establish a Foundation for Innovative Growth and New Jobs"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 22nd that its proposal for the lead project site of the Urban Convergence Special Zone covering 850,000㎡ in the Sangmu District, submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, has been finally selected as the lead project site for the Urban Convergence Special Zone after review by the Ministry’s Expert Committee and reporting at the National Balanced Development Committee’s plenary session.

The Urban Convergence Special Zone project applies the Pangyo 2 Valley model to the old downtown areas of five metropolitan cities excluding the Seoul metropolitan area, creating attractive complex innovation spaces for companies and youth. It concentrates major government-led spatial development projects in the city center and establishes innovative complex spaces combining workplaces, living spaces, and areas for play and learning.

The Sangmu District area, selected as the lead project site, is located at the center of an industrial belt including local universities, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) cluster, Research and Development (R&D) special zones, Free Economic Zones, and industrial complexes. It has advantages such as ease of forming industry-academia-research clusters and excellent economic growth potential in terms of transportation, living conditions, and site acquisition.

In particular, as an idle site of 850,000㎡ in the city center, some public land is easy to secure, and the area boasts excellent transportation, residential, cultural, educational, and park environments, meeting the special zone designation requirements. The proactive implementation of real estate stabilization measures was also evaluated as a strength.

The Sangmu District Urban Convergence Special Zone lead project aims to create 10,000 new innovative jobs through the establishment of a future growth industry ecosystem, develop a lifestyle-customized residential environment, create a smart green environment for the future, and establish an innovation hub where challenges become routine.

From next year until 2025, spaces for startups, growth, ventures, communication, and exchange, as well as innovative companies and global spaces, will be created in the Sangmu District area.

The spaces for startups, growth, ventures, communication, and exchange will consist of public-led creative economy ecosystem clusters, startup growth support, venture and startup nurturing spaces, and will include support facilities such as a Corporate Support Hub, Corporate Growth Center, SW Dream Center, ICT Convergence Center, and Global BIZ Center.

The innovative companies and global spaces will include future technology leading spaces for innovative companies, anchor company locations for companies relocating from the Seoul metropolitan area and successful startups, and shared spaces for mentoring, consulting, technology trends, and open academies between senior and junior companies.

The government plans to pour all support measures needed by companies into this space under the motto of “a regional hub where youth want to work” to promote the Urban Convergence Special Zone. It will provide relocation support funds to companies moving from the Seoul metropolitan area, commercialization funds to startups within the special zone, and tax benefits such as corporate tax, property tax, and acquisition tax.

To this end, the government plans to continuously prepare and supplement detailed support measures by proposing a special law within the year, establishing a master plan at the basic planning level, and forming a support council for the Urban Convergence Special Zone with related ministries centered on the National Balanced Development Committee.

Gwangju City will form a dedicated team and establish a consultative body with industry, academia, research institutes, and public institutions to develop concrete plans reflecting regional characteristics. It will begin basic planning and feasibility study projects early next year.

In particular, to create a special zone that satisfies entrepreneurs and youth and has a voluntary, competitive, and self-sustaining industrial convergence ecosystem, Gwangju plans to develop a detailed plan with a bold and innovative idea of not “another special zone” but “the one and only special zone.”

Meanwhile, concerned about speculative land transactions if the area is designated as a lead project site, Gwangju City will proactively carry out administrative procedures such as hearing residents’ opinions and reviewing by the local urban planning committee. On the 23rd, it will announce the designation of a development activity permit restriction area and a land transaction contract permit zone for 343,817㎡ of private land in the area of 586-4 Maryuk-dong.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “Along with the Urban Convergence Special Zone lead project site, we will build infrastructure that can create future industries with comparative advantages over the Seoul metropolitan area by leveraging regional strengths such as the AI-centered city, Gwangju-type Green New Deal, automobile industry, energy valley, and Free Economic Zone, thereby laying the foundation for innovative growth of local industries and new job creation.”

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