Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority Selected for 2 Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Competitions

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority announced on the 17th that it has been selected in the ‘Innovation Cluster Foundation’ and ‘Corporate Business Capability Enhancement’ categories of the ‘2021 Free Economic Zone Innovation Ecosystem Creation Support Project’ announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The Innovation Ecosystem Creation Project is a support project newly initiated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to foster free economic zones as global hubs for new industries by creating an ecosystem among innovation entities within the free economic zones, and based on this, to provide customized support and growth assistance according to corporate demand.

Through this ‘Innovation Cluster Foundation Project,’ the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority plans to establish and operate a permanent collaboration system to support companies by creating industry-academia-research clusters in future-oriented automobile, smart energy, and AI convergence industries through ▲ operation of an innovation support cluster network ▲ support for global expansion and digital transformation (DX) capability enhancement of resident companies ▲ establishment of a sustainable ESG management support platform ecosystem.

Additionally, through the ‘Corporate Business Capability Enhancement Project,’ comprehensive support will be provided focusing on resident companies within the free economic zone to resolve difficulties arising in corporate activities by offering customized and practical support such as ▲ business support including strategy establishment, marketing, and regulatory special case support ▲ technical support including technical consulting and certification acquisition support ▲ package support for each stage of corporate growth such as overseas expansion.

The project is led by the Gwangju Technopark Foundation, with participation from the Gwangju Regional Business Evaluation Group, cooperating in connection with the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority to carry out the project.

The Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority expects this project to serve as a catalyst for establishing an innovation ecosystem foundation by core strategic industries of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone, leading to active foreign investment, expansion of related companies in each field to build another innovation ecosystem, positive chain effects, and job creation in the local community.

Kim Jin-cheol, head of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority, said, “Building an innovation ecosystem is very important to flexibly respond to the rapidly changing corporate environment due to shocks such as COVID-19,” and added, “Although we are a latecomer compared to other free economic zone authorities, through this public offering project, we will build an innovation ecosystem leading advanced new industries to create an attractive free economic zone where domestic and foreign companies can invest stably.”

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