Pohang City Designated as Secondary Battery Specialized Complex ... Accelerating Leap to World's Top Secondary Battery Cluster

Government Support for Core Industrial Complexes, Tax Benefits, R&D, and Global Commercialization Promotion

Economic Impact: 23 Trillion KRW in Production, 9.5 Trillion KRW in Added Value, 56,000 Jobs Created

Following Steel, Establishing Fu

Following Pohang City's successful designation as a ‘Secondary Battery Specialized Complex,’ the city announced on the 25th that it plans to open the ‘Era of Innovation in Korea’ by leveraging comprehensive government support and differentiated, solid strategies unique to Pohang to realize ‘Battery National Defense’ and soar as a global secondary battery industry hub city.

Press conference held at City Hall on the 20th following the designation of the 'Secondary Battery Specialized Complex.'

With the designation of the 11.44 million㎡ area encompassing Pohang Yeongilman Industrial Complex and Blue Valley National Industrial Complex as a ‘Secondary Battery Cathode Material Industry Specialized Complex,’ the government will provide extensive and diverse policy support to foster the core battery material cathode material industry.

The government's key support includes securing industrial complex locations and infrastructure, tax benefits, and promoting R&D and global commercialization.

Specifically, support will be provided for the construction of essential facilities such as water supply and roads, and expedited processing of permits and approvals (reducing notification periods from 30 to 15 days). Tax benefits include an increased tax credit rate for secondary battery company facility investments (up to 35%) and enhanced land utilization through a 1.4 times increase in floor area ratio. Additionally, the government will prioritize R&D budget allocation, support workforce development, and implement killer regulation reforms, among various other government-level supports.

A city official explained, “The success in designating the specialized complex is why we expect groundbreaking regional economic revitalization through corporate attraction, accelerated innovative growth of resident companies, job creation through workforce development, and increased sales.”

Pohang City was the first in Korea to foster the secondary battery industry and establish an ecosystem, building a comprehensive secondary battery management center, POSCO TECH, and Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, among others. Based on excellent R&D, workforce development, and optimal business conditions, it has established the Jeonju Miracle value chain, with corporate investments promised to reach 14 trillion KRW by 2027. The designation of the specialized complex is expected to further accelerate corporate attraction and the creation of an innovative industrial ecosystem.

Moreover, Pohang City's efforts to lead the global secondary battery material market through technology development, linkage of upstream and downstream value chains, and securing supply chains will gain additional momentum in realizing the ‘material self-reliance’ vision for establishing Korea’s ‘economic security’ through the attraction of the specialized complex.

The city expects to accelerate achieving the vision and goals of producing 1 million tons of core cathode materials, which determine battery performance and price, and reaching sales of 70 trillion KRW (including total material sales of 100 trillion KRW) by 2030. Considering additional industrial linkages, the designation of this specialized complex is expected to generate economic effects such as production of 23.3418 trillion KRW, added value of 9.559 trillion KRW, and employment of 56,798 people.

In collaboration with Gyeongbuk Province and others, the city plans to smoothly implement three major strategies and nine detailed execution plans under the vision of establishing Pohang as a ‘world-class secondary battery core material supply base’ to create Pohang’s unique innovative industrial ecosystem.

The three major strategies are ▲building sustainable infrastructure ▲developing breakthrough technologies and workforce training ▲establishing a sound industrial ecosystem. The execution plans include developing fundamental technologies for cathode material design, manufacturing, and processes linked to industry-academia-research institutes, building upstream and downstream value chains for the cathode material industry, establishing cooperation systems among large, medium, and small enterprises linked to other clusters, and creating an eco-friendly industrial complex.

To this end, Pohang City will systematically promote projects by forming and operating the ‘Battery National Defense T/F’ with Gyeongbuk Province. Additionally, it will smoothly advance projects such as the establishment of the ‘world’s largest secondary battery material mega cluster’ and the ‘Secondary Battery Material MOTHER FACTORY,’ dedicating full efforts to fostering the secondary battery industry that will lead Korea’s economy.

Furthermore, following its nationwide first designation and recognition for outstanding achievements, Pohang Battery Regulatory Free Zone, the only one selected for three consecutive years, will be further expanded and advanced. Leading with the ‘Battery Global Innovation Special Zone,’ which will establish global standards, the city will continue to pursue designations such as the government’s balanced development policy ‘Opportunity Development Special Zone,’ expanding innovative investment attraction infrastructure to open a new local era led by Pohang.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok emphasized, “Beyond Pohang, the designation of the specialized complex has given new momentum to the energy innovation industry that will redraw Korea’s industrial map and open a hopeful future,” adding, “Following steel national defense, we will devote all our efforts to strengthening Korea’s industrial competitiveness through ‘Battery National Defense.’”

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