Gwangyang City Holds Forum on Fostering Secondary Battery Strategic Industry

Designation of Secondary Battery Material Industry Opportunity Development Zone, etc.

Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 20th that it successfully held a forum at the city hall's main conference room to establish a foundation for creating a secondary battery strategic industry ecosystem and to designate an Opportunity Development Zone.

The forum was co-hosted and organized by Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, and National Assembly member Seo Dong-yong. It invited Professor Oh Moon-sung, who developed the initial model for the current national agenda of Opportunity Development Zones, and Senior Researcher Park Jae-beom from POSCO Management Research Institute to envision a blueprint for the development of the secondary battery industry in the Gwangyang Bay area and the designation of the Opportunity Development Zone.

[Photo provided by Gwangyang-si]

The first presenter, Professor Oh Moon-sung, spoke on the strategy for designating Opportunity Development Zones, emphasizing that “while existing special zones followed a top-down approach, Opportunity Development Zones will adopt a bottom-up approach,” highlighting the importance of local governments' will.

He added, “Opportunity Development Zones must address educational issues and tax benefits as key factors to overcome the limitations of population movement to the metropolitan area.”

Senior Researcher Park Jae-beom from POSCO Management Research Institute introduced the development potential of the secondary battery industry and the current status of the secondary battery industry in the Gwangyang Bay area, positively evaluating Gwangyang City's secondary battery industry by stating, “The Gwangyang Bay area is becoming the center of lithium production, a core industry of secondary batteries.”

Panel discussions included Choi Jong-seo, General Director of the Korea Battery Industry Association; Kwak Jae-hyun, Head of Materials Technology Support Division at Jeonnam Technopark; Jung Jeong-seol, Center Director at Korea Chemical Convergence Testing Institute; Kim Han-su, Executive Director at POSCO Future M; Kim Mi-soon, Head of Infrastructure Industry Division at Jeollanam-do; and Jo Sun-mi, Head of New Industry Division at Gwangyang City. They discussed the development potential of Gwangyang City's secondary battery industry and expressed support and commitment for the designation of the Opportunity Development Zone.

In particular, during the Q&A session, Jeollanam-do expressed support for the designation of the Gwangyang Bay area as an Opportunity Development Zone for the secondary battery industry by collaborating with Gwangyang City on the “Preliminary Survey Support Project for Planning Opportunity Development Zones,” led by the Local Era Committee.

Mayor Jeong In-hwa of Gwangyang City said in his greeting, “Gwangyang City is making various administrative efforts not only to attract companies to the Gwangyang Bay area but also to establish itself as a leader in the secondary battery sector,” adding, “This opportunity will be a meaningful time to provide direction so that our Gwangyang City can take flight in the secondary battery materials industry.”

Meanwhile, to receive designation as an Opportunity Development Zone for the secondary battery materials industry, Gwangyang City established a New Industry Division and a Secondary Battery Team through an organizational restructuring in the first half of 2023.

Additionally, in collaboration with Jeollanam-do, the city is promoting a project to build an ecosystem for the designation of a specialized secondary battery complex in the Gwangyang Bay area, making multifaceted efforts.

Reporter Heo Seon-sik, Honam Coverage Headquarters, Asia Economy hss79@asiae.co.kr

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