Gwangju City and Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority Sign Business Agreement with Silicon Valley Business Forum

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Expecting Gwangju Economic Zone to Become the Second Silicon Valley"

On the afternoon of the 6th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, signed a business agreement with the Silicon Valley Business Forum (SVBF) at the City Hall Business Room to establish a global network and hold a Silicon Valley investment attraction roundtable. From left to right in the photo are Kim Jin-cheol, Head of Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority; Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City; and Moon Guk-hyun, Co-chairman of SVBF. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City and the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority signed a business agreement with the Silicon Valley Business Forum (SVBF) on the afternoon of the 6th at the City Hall Business Room to establish a global network and hold a Silicon Valley investment attraction roundtable.

The Silicon Valley Business Forum is an international business forum jointly created by Chairman Moon Guk-hyun, CEO of Hansol Textile and New Paradigm Institute (NPI), and Ossama Hassanein, Chairman of the venture investment company Rising Tide Fund (RTF) based in Silicon Valley.

The forum acts as a bridge for domestic mid-sized and small enterprises to enter the global market through networking between domestic companies and Silicon Valley companies, facilitating the transfer of the latest technologies and attracting joint investments. This year, the 3rd Silicon Valley Business Forum will be linked with the Jeju International Electric Vehicle Expo, with an event in Gwangju focusing on the battery sector.

At the signing ceremony, Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Kim Jin-cheol, head of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority, and Moon Guk-hyun, co-chairman of SVBF, attended as representatives. Ossama Hassanein, co-chairman of SVBF, greeted via video from the United States.

Through this agreement, starting with the Silicon Valley investment attraction roundtable in May, they plan to build a global network to promote business collaboration between Silicon Valley startups and domestic companies, and cooperate to transfer promising technologies, aiming to make the Gwangju Free Economic Zone a central axis of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The main contents of the agreement include ▲ jointly hosting the Silicon Valley investment attraction roundtable in May focusing on next-generation battery technology ▲ efforts to make the Gwangju Free Economic Zone a central hub for cooperation between startups and major companies ▲ attracting joint investments in next-generation battery technology ▲ promoting mid- to long-term collaborative projects related to key technologies.

Moon Guk-hyun, co-chairman of SVBF, said, “After semiconductors, the hottest field worldwide is the battery sector, where a war is underway over who can first increase battery capacity and manufacture it with new technologies,” adding, “We will strive to establish mutual networks between Gwangju, which is leading the bold adoption of future technologies, and Silicon Valley.”

Ossama Hassanein, co-chairman of SVBF, said, “I am very pleased to be able to hold the Silicon Valley Business Forum through cooperation with Gwangju City and the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority,” and added, “We will actively support the Gwangju Free Economic Zone to become a global hub for innovation and sustainable technologies.”

Kim Jin-cheol, head of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority, stated, “We will promote collaboration not only in next-generation battery technology but also in AI-based technologies with Silicon Valley companies possessing innovative technologies, continuously developing the nation’s only AI-based free economic zone.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The Silicon Valley Business Forum will serve as a bridge between Gwangju and Silicon Valley, providing new opportunities for our companies and laying the foundation for success,” and added, “I hope that through active exchanges and cooperation between our companies and Silicon Valley companies in the Gwangju Free Economic Zone, sustainable growth engines will be created, making the Gwangju Free Economic Zone the second Silicon Valley.”

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