Jo Joohyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Visits Pohang Battery Regulatory Free Zone Site

Pohang City Proposes Advancement of Regulatory Free Zone and Designation as Global Innovation Zone

(From left) Park Inhwan, Director of the 4th Industrial Foundation Division, Gyeongbuk Province; Baek Unman, Head of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Regional Small and Medium Business Administration; Lee Jang-sik, Vice Mayor of Pohang City; Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy, Gyeongbuk Province; Kwon Hyerin, Director of the Regulatory Free Zone Division, Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Ha Inseong, President of Gyeongbuk Technopark.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry), visited Pohang on the 6th to inspect the site of the ‘Gyeongbuk Pohang Battery Regulatory Free Zone,’ which has been producing excellent results through battery regulation innovation.

On this day, Vice Minister Cho toured the demonstration sites of the regulatory free zone, including the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center and EcoPro Pohang Campus, checked the achievements of the battery recycling and reuse business so far, and took time to encourage the zone operators.

Vice Minister Cho had lunch with the zone operators and company officials, listened to current issues regarding battery regulations, and exchanged various opinions on resolving regulations.

Vice Minister Cho Joo-hyun said, “We will strive to ensure the continuous growth of the new battery industry through regulatory innovation and actively support the coexistence of large, medium, and small enterprises. We will also continuously communicate to ensure that the voices from the field are reflected when the government formulates policies.”

At the luncheon meeting, Lee Jang-sik, Deputy Mayor of Pohang City, who welcomed Vice Minister Cho Joo-hyun, proposed the designation of a global innovation zone to attract battery innovation companies to the region and strengthen the global competitiveness of companies by advancing the Pohang Battery Regulatory Free Zone, which is redrawing the region’s industrial map.

Pohang City, together with Gyeongbuk Province, has been working to foster the battery industry as an innovative growth engine by attracting large-scale investments from companies such as EcoPro, POSCO Chemical, and GS Construction since the designation of the Battery Regulatory Free Zone, creating new jobs, and selling lots in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex.

Currently, Pohang City is promoting demonstration infrastructure as national projects, including attracting the Ministry of Environment’s Used Battery Resource Circulation Cluster and Inline Automatic Evaluation Center, and being selected for the Ministry of Industry’s High-Safety Commercialization Support Project for Battery Distribution.

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