Pohang City Receives 'Highest Grade' in Battery Regulatory Free Zone Evaluation by Ministry of SMEs and Startups... The Only City Nationwide for 2 Consecutive Years

Large-scale Investment Attraction and Establishment of Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center Reflect Local Governments' Active Commitment

Bird's-eye view of Pohang Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] On the 24th, Pohang City announced that its Battery Regulatory Free Zone was selected as the only 'Excellent' zone nationwide for two consecutive years in the 2020 Regulatory Free Zone Operation Performance Evaluation by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

This evaluation was conducted comprehensively based on achievement of results, ripple effects, and utilization of regulatory exemptions for 14 regulatory free zones nationwide. Including the Daegu Smart Wellness and Jeonbuk Eco-friendly Vehicle Regulatory Free Zones, three zones received excellent evaluations.

Since being designated as a Battery Regulatory Free Zone in July 2019 covering the Yeongilman General Industrial Complex and Blue Valley National Industrial Complex area (556,694㎡, 170,000 pyeong), Pohang City has attracted large-scale investments through active investment attraction activities targeting battery-related companies.

Investments have established a secondary battery value chain, including GS Construction’s battery recycling plant construction, POSCO Chemical’s secondary battery artificial graphite anode material production plant construction, and the construction of cathode material production plants by six EcoPro subsidiaries such as EcoPro BM.

Additionally, the city received high evaluations for its strong commitment to revitalizing the zone by investing 10.7 billion KRW to build the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center within the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex Regulatory Free Zone, which will serve as an advanced base for fostering the electric vehicle battery industry.

The Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center is the first and largest infrastructure in Korea designed to systematically foster the battery industry through the advancement and high value-added development of secondary batteries.

Pohang City has established plans to develop the secondary battery industry as a new growth engine following the steel industry by maintaining close cooperation with central government ministries such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Environment, aiming to nurture Pohang as Korea’s battery mecca city.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok emphasized, “We will focus administrative efforts not only through central government ministries but also through active collaboration with battery material companies such as POSCO Chemical, EcoPro, and GS Construction to contribute significantly to the development of Pohang and the Korean battery industry through fostering the secondary battery industry.”

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