Ministry of Land Designates Two Investment Leading Districts in Chuncheon, Gangwon and Gwangju Songjeong Station

Creation of Korea's First Data Center Complex Utilizing Seawater Thermal Energy in Chuncheon
Development of Gwangju Songjeong Station KTX Area into a Converged Industrial, Business, and Residential District

Land Use Plan Map of the Convergence Cluster for Thermal Energy in Gangwon Province.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 16th that the Chuncheon Soyanggang Dam Thermal Energy Convergence Cluster and the Gwangju Songjeong Station KTX Regional Economic Hub District, which were respectively applied for by Gangwon Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City to create jobs and revitalize the economy, have been finally designated as investment leading districts after review by the National Land Policy Committee.

Investment leading districts are regional development projects initiated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport since 2015 to discover and foster regional strategic projects with significant economic ripple effects, aiming to nurture areas with development potential such as regional specialization as growth hubs or to activate private investment. A total of 17 districts have been selected, with 9 districts currently designated and full-scale projects underway. Once designated as an investment leading district, they can receive package support including national funding, tax benefits (applicable to growth promotion areas), and regulatory exemptions (such as relaxed building coverage ratio and floor area ratio).

The Gangwon Province Thermal Energy Convergence Cluster investment leading district is a project to create a cluster including a data center complex and smart farms by utilizing the thermal energy of deep water from Soyanggang Dam. Chuncheon City and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) plan to invest 304 billion KRW on a 784,912㎡ site to foster the water energy industry through the Green New Deal and develop it as a regional growth hub.

In particular, the project plans to establish an eco-friendly data center complex by supplying cooling thermal energy to data centers, whose demand is rapidly increasing due to the 4th Industrial Revolution, thereby reducing energy consumption and carbon and fine dust emissions. Additionally, the supply of warmed tap water (from 5 to 12℃) using thermal energy is expected to reduce hot water costs by approximately 7 billion KRW per year within the Soyang water purification plant supply area.

Furthermore, the project aims to create a water energy complex for the supply and research of thermal energy to foster the domestic water energy industry. By linking with smart farm sites and supporting and nurturing farmers, it is expected to present a model for the spread and dissemination of smart farms, establishing itself as a leading model for future water resource new industries.

The Gwangju Songjeong Station KTX Regional Economic Hub investment leading district will be developed by Korea Railroad Corporation in connection with a transfer parking lot and will be transformed into a regional growth hub by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) investing 594.3 billion KRW on a 560,427㎡ site to activate private investment in the hinterland area of Songjeong Station, where unregulated development is spreading.

In particular, through three-dimensional pedestrian connections extending from Gwangju Songjeong Station, the project plans to enhance the convenience of Songjeong Station users and systematically develop the surrounding old downtown area. It aims to nurture the station area as a symbolic gateway to Gwangju Metropolitan City by developing commercial, residential, and office functions as a regional living growth hub. The hinterland area of Songjeong Station is expected to serve as a forward base for regional economic growth by attracting investment and creating jobs through the establishment of a convergence complex for research, startup support, and technology exchange in the automotive industry, a regional specialized industry, linked with the Pyeongdong General Industrial Complex and Bitgreen National Industrial Complex.

Baek Won-guk, Director of the National Land Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The designation of the Chuncheon and Gwangju Songjeong Station KTX investment leading districts marks a meaningful first step in creating new vitality for the regional economy," adding, "We plan to continue providing tailored consulting and support with local governments to ensure that this leads to tangible results."

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