Mayor Donghwan Lee, "I will draw a new economic map for Goyang City"... Competing to attract 'Economic Free Zone'

Submission of 'Application for Additional Free Economic Zone Designation' to Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority
Tax Support, Deregulation, and Business Activity Support... Creating a Business-Friendly Environment
Providing Jobs to Local Residents and Supplying Human Resources to Companies... Expecting Win-Win Effects

Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang [Goyang City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-chul] Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province is making a full-scale move to attract an 'Economic Free Zone.'

Goyang City announced on the 19th that it submitted an application for designation as an Economic Free Zone to the 'Gyeonggi Economic Free Zone Authority' on the 14th.

If Goyang City is designated as an Economic Free Zone, various incentives such as tax support, deregulation, and business activity support will be possible, creating a favorable environment for attracting companies.

Including Goyang, the adjacent areas of Paju, Gimpo, Eunpyeong, and Gangseo have a combined population of about 4.5 million, which is expected to create a win-win effect by providing jobs to local residents and supplying human resources to companies.

Additionally, as a transportation and industrial hub connecting the northern border area of Gyeonggi and key cities in the metropolitan area, it can also contribute to the overall industrial and economic development of northern Gyeonggi.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang emphasized, "The economic and industrial development of Goyang City is an opportunity for mutual growth with neighboring northern Gyeonggi areas, and it will serve as a foundation to secure growth engines not only for balanced development in Gyeonggi Province but also for the Republic of Korea."

Until now, Goyang City has been designated as a congestion control zone under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act, which has imposed many restrictions on attracting self-sufficient facilities such as industrial facilities, companies, and universities.

Due to various regulations such as development restriction zones, military facility protection zones, and agricultural promotion zones, despite being the second most populous city in Gyeonggi Province, it has deteriorated into a 'bed town' without substantial growth.

In particular, overlapping regulations have led to a weak industrial structure centered on retail rather than manufacturing.

Compared to southern Gyeonggi, Goyang City's GRDP ranks 7th in Gyeonggi Province, and per capita GRDP ranks 26th. Over the past four years, the average annual growth rate of GRDP was 4.46% in southern Gyeonggi and 3.50% in northern Gyeonggi, showing a gap.

As a solution, Mayor Lee Dong-hwan, advocating for the designation of an Economic Free Zone, stated, "We will create new economic momentum by attracting global advanced companies and generating synergy effects linked with domestic companies," and stressed, "We will definitely draw a new economic map for Goyang City."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Economic Free Zone Authority will hold an evaluation committee to select the first candidate site for the Economic Free Zone research project among the submitted local governments.

If Goyang City is selected as the first candidate site, it plans to jointly promote a study on revising the Gyeonggi Economic Free Zone development plan with Gyeonggi Province early next year. Ultimately, the governor of Gyeonggi Province will apply for expanded designation to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy by the end of next year.

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