Naju City and KEPCO Join Hands to Revitalize the Small but Strong R&D Special Zone

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) are accelerating customized growth support for energy-specialized companies to revitalize the Small Giant R&D Special Zone.

The city announced on the 1st that it held the 'Naju Small Giant R&D Special Zone Company Scale-up Agreement Ceremony' at KEPCO headquarters Vision Hall.

This project provides customized growth support in eight areas reflecting companies' autonomous needs, including prototype production, technical support, testing and certification, and global expansion support.

The project targets companies within the Naju Small Giant Special Zone or small and medium-sized enterprises in Naju City specializing in high-efficiency solar power, renewable operation and maintenance (O&M), and energy storage system (ESS) fields, supporting up to 50 million KRW per company.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the 31st of next month and will close once the budget is exhausted.

About 30 representatives and officials from 15 small and medium-sized enterprises selected in the specialized fields attended the agreement ceremony.

Designated by the Ministry of Science and ICT on August 28 last year, the Naju Small Giant Special Zone is Korea's first 'public enterprise-type' R&D special zone that establishes a small-scale, high-density technology commercialization hub with KEPCO as the core technology institution.

The area covers a total of 1.69 km² (510,000 pyeong), including the Naju Innovation Industrial Complex where the Energy New Technology Research Institute is located, and the innovation city industry-academia-research cluster, promoting specialized projects in high-efficiency solar power, renewable operation and maintenance (O&M), and energy storage system (ESS) fields within the zone.

Resident institutions, research institute companies, and companies possessing advanced technologies receive various tax reduction benefits, including corporate tax, income tax, acquisition tax, and property tax.

Additionally, they can receive up to 6 billion KRW annually in national funding for participation in government-led technology commercialization R&D projects and various demonstration projects.

In April, the city and KEPCO opened the 'Do Dream (Dudream)+ Center' in the innovation city to spread the industry-academia-research innovation growth ecosystem and promote joint development with the local community, implementing various support projects for Small Giant Special Zone companies.

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, "We will do our best to create practical support and growth foundations for promising small and medium-sized enterprises in the energy specialization field through the revitalization of the Small Giant Special Zone," and added, "We ask for the active interest and participation of resident companies."

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong bong2910@asiae.co.kr

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