Gyeongbuk Province Selected as 'Nation's Best Regional Innovation Case' for Battery Regulatory Free Zone

Presentation of Best Practices at the 2nd Anniversary Forum of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Regulatory Free Zones

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 21st that its next-generation battery recycling special regulatory zone project was selected as an exemplary case among the 24 special regulatory zones nationwide at the '2nd Anniversary of Special Regulatory Zone Implementation and Future Development Forum' held on the 20th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry International Conference Hall.

The forum was attended by Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, who is the supervising ministry for the special regulatory zones' 2nd anniversary, Lee Byung-heon, Secretary for SMEs and Startups at the Blue House, as well as officials from related ministries, agencies, local governments, and participating companies.

During Gyeongbuk Province's case presentation, the topic was the achievements and success factors of the Gyeongbuk next-generation battery recycling special regulatory zone, focusing on the background of the project, progress to date, detailed business structure, corporate investment attraction results, and future strategies through follow-up policy projects.

The Gyeongbuk battery special zone is a project that demonstrates the reuse of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries as ESS and recycling for the extraction of rare metals.

At the time of designation in 2019, there were 6 companies, which has now expanded to 12 special zone companies. Now, in addition to special zone companies, various battery material companies, both large and small, continue to gather within the special regulatory zone.

Corporate investment began with a 100 billion KRW investment by GS Construction, attended by the President, and has continued with investments across the secondary battery material sector, totaling 552.2 billion KRW in private investment from companies such as Ecopro, POSCO Chemical, and New Tech L&B.

In recent operational performance evaluations, it has received the highest evaluation grade (excellent) for two consecutive years, officially recognized as the most successful special zone model that has greatly contributed to the institutional stabilization two years after the implementation of the special regulatory zone system.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated, "Gyeongbuk's special regulatory zone is a core brand project that reflects the local government's urgency to achieve regional innovative growth through regulatory innovation, moving away from the Seoul metropolitan area-centered approach," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that industries that have struggled due to regulations can flourish in Gyeongbuk."

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