With the Power of 500,000 Citizens! ... Unanimous Call to Designate Pohang as a Specialized Secondary Battery Complex

10th Citizens' Day Ceremony and Resolution Rally for Designation of Secondary Battery Specialized Complex

Self-Reliance in Secondary Battery Materials, Pohang as the Optimal City for Maximum Cathode Material Production

As the government prepares to select the National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complex, the citizens of Pohang are united in their hope for the designation of a secondary battery specialized complex, lending strong support to the campaign to attract the ‘Secondary Battery Specialized Complex to Pohang.’

On the 10th, Pohang City held a resolution rally at the Pohang Citizens' Day ceremony at Pohang Sports Complex, where local members of the National Assembly, provincial and city council members, representatives from the economic and industrial sectors, education, and various civic and social organizations gathered to pray for the designation of ‘Pohang Secondary Battery Specialized Complex.’

On the 10th, at the Pohang Sports Complex, a rally was held where citizens from all walks of life gathered to pray for the designation of the "Pohang Secondary Battery Specialized Complex" during the Pohang Citizens' Day commemorative ceremony.

The attending citizens resolved to designate Pohang as a secondary battery specialized complex with vigorous cheers, holding placards and banners praying for the designation.

The citizens voiced that Pohang is a proud city that has led South Korea’s development through the steel industry, and now, to prepare for the next 100 years with a new growth engine called secondary batteries, Pohang must be designated as a specialized complex.

In Pohang, various groups such as the Pohang Regional Development Council, Pohang Development Advisory Committee Federation, and Pohang Chamber of Commerce and Industry have expressed their positions supporting the designation of Pohang as a secondary battery specialized complex. The city council also adopted a ‘Request for Designation of Specialized Complex’ at the regular meeting held on the 12th, reflecting the heated local atmosphere.

The government is currently soliciting applications for the designation of National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complexes to foster advanced strategic industries such as secondary batteries and semiconductors and to secure technological sovereignty, with the announcement scheduled for early July.

Pohang is leveraging its strengths, including being the global leader in cathode material production, establishing a full-cycle industrial ecosystem with companies like EcoPro and POSCO Future M, and attracting large-scale corporate investments worth 14 trillion won, to challenge the secondary battery sector with full force.

While most metropolitan local governments are competing to attract specialized complexes, Pohang, together with Gyeongbuk Province, plans to develop the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex and Yeongilman General Industrial Complex as cathode material specialized complexes, aiming to complete South Korea’s secondary battery material supply chain.

Additionally, there is a high possibility of linkage with the future car parts industry in Yeongcheon, Gyeongju, and Gyeongsan, as well as the secondary battery material and e-mobility industries in Gimcheon, Gumi, and Sangju within Gyeongbuk Province, which is expected to create synergy effects through industrial convergence within the province.

If designated as an advanced strategic industry specialized complex, Pohang is expected to receive national support such as infrastructure construction assistance for the industrial complex, expedited approval of production facilities, and tax benefits including tax credits, which will boost corporate attraction.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok emphasized, “Secondary batteries are the only industry that can surpass semiconductors and will become another pillar of our country’s economy,” adding, “Pohang is the optimal location to strengthen South Korea’s secondary battery industry competitiveness and achieve material self-reliance.”

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