"Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, Gyeongsan, Please Designate as Future Car Parts Industry Cluster" ... Gyeongbuk Province Signs Agreement with 10 Companies

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] Gyeongbuk has raised the curtain to leap forward as the representative region of South Korea's automotive parts industry through the creation of a future automotive parts industry supercluster.

On the 6th at 2 p.m., Gyeongsangbuk-do held an investment agreement and labor-management win-win cooperation agreement with Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, Gyeongsan cities, 10 large-scale automotive parts companies including DAS, Eco Plastic, Youngshin Precision, Hwashin, Shinyoung, Hanjung NS, Ilji Tech, Ajin Industry, Daeyoung Electric, Geonhwa ENG, as well as business circles, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions Gyeongbuk Regional Headquarters, and the Metal Workers' Union Gyeongju Branch.

The 10 companies participating in this agreement plan to invest more than 588 billion KRW by 2025 and aim to create about 800 jobs to shift the existing internal combustion engine-centered industrial structure to a future car parts industry-oriented structure.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to apply to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy early next year to designate areas such as Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, and Gyeongsan as the "Future Automotive Parts Industry Supercluster."

Gyeongbuk Province has been carrying out the project since April, starting with consulting support from the Labor-Management Development Foundation, aiming to create a future car parts industry supercluster for regional coexistence through a major innovation of the internal combustion engine-centered automotive parts industry located in Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, and Gyeongsan, and to maintain jobs and create new jobs through industrial and labor transition and workforce training.

Also, since June, to derive social dialogue and agreement proposals among labor, management, government, and civic groups in the Gyeongbuk region, they have operated a win-win council and conducted mutual consultations, completing a Gyeongbuk-only model that reflects field concerns up to investment attraction, incentive development, and win-win agreement proposals.

The model pursued by Gyeongbuk is an endogenous regional development model led by local governments and centered on the private sector with government support added. Through governance among the province, Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, and Gyeongsan and joint efforts of labor, management, government, and civic groups, they plan to foster a future automotive parts cluster to form a regional innovation community.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, “Unlike the existing method of attracting investment from large corporations to local areas, this agreement is a case where companies located in the region proactively decided on investment and employment to respond to the era of future car transition.” He added, “We will focus our capabilities so that Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, and Gyeongsan can grow into the largest future car automotive parts industrial complex in the country and secure future jobs.”

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